Apocalypse Rising
by The Night Lord
Summary: Two months after the Alcatraz battle and things are returning back to normal, however, not for long. Old and new allies and enemies appear, as the Brotherhood start to make a return. And that's not all. There's someone behind it all, someone very powerful
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first X-Men story. I'm setting it about two months after _The Last Stand_ and will be introducing old and new characters. Also, for the purpose of this story, I'll be adding in some plots/elements from the comics, thought you'll have to wait and find out which ones they are. Reviews are nice and welcome, so please read and I hope you enjoy this story**

_-XXXX-_

"Morning," Moira McTaggert said, "And how are we doing?"

"Much better," the man replied in Xavier's voice, "I'm getting stronger by the minute. Soon, I'll be able to project myself to another body"

"Well, we are working on that. Hopefully, this next one will survive"

"It'll be fine"

"Yeah, it's not easy creating a cloned body with not much cells. But if everything goes right, by the end of the week, I'll have a body for you, Charles"

"I look forward to it," Xavier said with a smile, "This body is fine, but I miss my old one. You will be able to make me walk again, right?"

"Sure. It'll be easy," Moira said, "Just hang in there, Charles"

_-XXXX-_

"Keep it coming, keep it coming, stay on balance…don't lose your balance. You're doing fine, just remember to keep your balance"

Rogue threw a few more punches and kicks, as Logan circled around her, blocking her blows, as she followed after him, keeping her balance as she sparred against him. Ever since taking the cure, Rogue still wanted to be a part of the X-Men and so, Logan took it upon himself to train her every afternoon. Of course, he trained the other students, but it was mainly Rogue he worked with, as she was now a human and needed more training than most. Bobby and Peter sometimes helped him out with the training the other students. It had been a little difficult teaching the students, as it was only Storm and Logan, yet they were managing just fine. Hank sometimes dropped by and helped when he wasn't away on trips overseas for summits and so forth. Storm had mentioned something about getting another mutant teacher to help out, but so far, no such luck. However, Storm never gave up trying

"Okay, that'll do," Logan said, grabbing a towel and wiping away the sweat, "You're doing good, kid. You're getting there"

"Thanks, Logan. It means a lot that you're doing this," Rogue said with a smile

"Hey, anything for you, kid. Come on, let's go"

Logan and Rogue left the training room, heading off towards their respective showers. Once Logan had his shower, he headed to his room to get dressed, before standing near his window, looking down at the small cemetery below. Charles Xavier's small pyre was still burning away, but it wasn't his headstone that Logan was staring at. Throwing some clothes on, Logan headed outside, standing before the three graves in a small quiet memoriam, reflecting about his fallen team-mates, but also mostly on Jean Grey. That night still haunted him, all these weeks later. That night he had to kill her upon her request in order to save everyone else. He could still hear her in his dreams…or nightmares, depending

"See ya round, guys"

Turning away, Logan headed back into the mansion

_-XXXX-_

_"You're in way over your head, Bobby. Maybe you should go back to school"_

"_You should never have left"_

John Allerdyce opened his eyes and sat up, groaning in memory of that night. Where he was defeated in battle by Bobby Drake, aka Iceman. He thought he had the fight won, until Bobby surprised him with his literal iceman move, covering his entire body in ice and taking John down. To his own surprise, John had survived the Phoenix's attack on Alcatraz Island, drifting back to shore on a piece of debris. Now, he was simply living on the streets, living with the humans he detested, waiting until he could find his way back to Magneto and begin the rise of power once again. Bobby and the X-Men would pay for what happened. They would pay. And with that in mind, John let a small smile grace his face and he laid back down into sleep once again

_-XXXX-_

Magneto raised his hand, trying to summon the refrigerator. It had been two months since the battle on Alcatraz Island. A battle in which he lost his powers, thanks to Wolverine and the Beast. However, he had discovered, by chance, that he still retained some of his powers, as he was able to slightly move a metal chess piece without touching it. A chess game he had set up in memory of his old fallen friend, Charles Xavier. But here he was, trying to regain his powers. He could move small metallic items, now he was trying for the large items

"Having any luck there?"

Magneto lost his concentration, the refrigerator falling down and open, contents spilling onto the floor. Magneto let out a heavy sigh and turned around to face the woman standing in his doorway. She simply smiled at him, her blue eyes sparkling, her face framed by her short black hair as she entered the kitchen

"What are you doing here, Mystique?" Magneto asked

"It's Raven now," Mystique replied, "I'm human now, just like you"

"No, I'm not. As you can tell from what I was just doing a moment ago"

"I suppose that is true then…for both of us"

Raven then changed into the blue-skinned, red-haired mutant that Magneto knew her to be, as a small smile appeared on her face, her golden eyes flashing

"I guess the cure wasn't as permanent as once thought," Magneto chuckled

"Humans. So foolish. That they think they can cure us simply like that," Mystique said, now circling Magneto, "And now, we're co-existing with them"

"Just like what Charles wanted," Magneto said, somewhat remorsefully, "It's a shame he's not alive today to see that"

"Yeah, well, we move on. Speaking of mutants, I have something here that would be of interest to you. Simply because it involves you"

Mystique held out the folder to Magneto and he took it with a frown

"See, there's a database on nearly all the mutants. I was going through that and came across this. There was something there that caught my eye and will catch yours"

Magneto opened up the folder, withdrawing the two photos and slips of paper, his eyes widening as he read. Mystique smiled, wondering how much wider Magneto's eyes would go

"Unbelievable," Magneto said

"Believe it or not," Mystique said

_-XXXX-_

"How was training?" Bobby asked

"Good as usual," Rogue answered, before kissing him

Bobby smiled in the kiss, enjoying the feel of her lips. It had been so long and now, they were finally able to touch each other, something in which they both revelled in. Breaking apart, Bobby grinned when Rogue let out a small moan of protestation

"I heard Storm got in a new teacher"

"Really. What's the name?"

"Emma Frost. She's a mutant. Something of a telepath"

"So kinda like…Jean…in a way?" Rogue asked

"Yeah, except blond," Bobby said

"What will she be teaching?"

"She'll be taking over some of Storm's and Jean's classes"

"At least it'll allow Storm to breathe. Has Logan met her yet?"

"I don't think so. It'll be interesting. Come on"

Bobby and Rogue headed down the corridor, mingling with the other students

"So, how do you know all this?" Rogue asked

"Uh…Kitty. She overhead Storm and Emma talking"

"Kitty huh?"

Bobby felt a small twinge of guilt inside him. After all, he knew that Kitty was part of the reason that Rogue had left to get the cure. But now, it was working out for the better, but Bobby still couldn't but feel the guilt every time he mentioned Kitty to her

"So, that's Emma?" Rogue said

"Yeah, that's her," Bobby answered

Emma Frost was young, about her mid-twenties, with shoulder-length blond hair and crystal blue eyes. Logan was helping her take her bags upstairs, something that Rogue noticed he wasn't interested in doing, but had been forced into it by Storm

"She likes white," Bobby said, "Lots and lots of white"

"What's going on here?" Peter asked, joining the pair

"New teacher," Rogue replied, "Haven't you heard?"

"Have now"

"Come on, let's go help Logan. He doesn't look too happy"

Rogue, Peter and Bobby grabbed the remaining bags and followed Logan up the stairs

_-XXXX-_


	2. Chapter 2

_-XXXX-_

The water was calm at Alkali Lake. Or at least until it started bubbling. The water began to boil in the surrounding area, like there was a volcano beneath the surface. Or something close to it. A whirlpool quickly appeared, as a bright red bolt of energy shot up into the air, landing on the nearby ground, before fading away, leaving a red-haired woman dressed in black leather lying there. The water returned to normal, as the woman coughed and gasped, opening her green eyes to the night sky, a million thoughts running through her mind

_"Where am I? What happened to me?"_

_-XXXX-_

"So, the new teacher's all settled in?" Rogue asked

"Let's hope so," Logan said in a gruff, "Those bloody suitcases of hers"

"Let's hope she meets up to standard"

"Well, I heard she taught at a previous mutant school in Manhattan," Bobby said, "She was looking for a change and came across Storm"

"Whatever the case, at least she's here to help," Logan said, "Now, don't you pair have classes?"

"Um…yes," Rogue replied

"Right. Off with you two then"

Bobby and Rogue headed off, holding hands as Logan smiled, watching them go. He was near the front of the mansion when he heard a knock. Frowning, he headed over and answered the door, surprised to see a young man before him. He had blue eyes and dark brown hair, looking kinda similar to Scott

"Hi there," the man said, "Is this Xavier's Institute for the Gifted?"

"Didn't ya read the sign at the front?" Logan asked, "Who are you?"

"I'm Alex…Alex Summers. I'm Scott's younger brother"

"No wonder you looked like him. What can I do for you?"

"I heard he recently passed"

"He's been dead for two months. Bit late aren't you?"

"I only just heard about it"

"Logan, who is the visitor?" Storm asked, coming down the stairs

"Alex Summers," he replied, stepping past Logan into the mansion

"Alex Summers? As in Scott's brother?"

"The very same. I only just found out about what happened to him"

"Well then, I guess you have to come with me"

Storm and Alex headed off, as Logan noticed the suitcase sitting outside. With a sigh, he grabbed the suitcase and closed the door, before heading upstairs, dumping the suitcase into an empty room, then joining Storm and Alex outside before the graves

"So, uh, how did he die?" Alex asked

"We don't know. We never found his body," Storm replied

"It's a shame. I never got to meet him"

"What do you mean by that?" Logan asked

"The last I remember seeing Scott was over ten years ago," Alex said, "I was raised in an orphanage. Only recently did I find out about Scott and what happened to him"

"Sorry we can't give you all the questions"

"He was a good man," Storm said, "So, what can you do?"

"Energy manipulation," Alex replied, "I can project energy blasts, but I'm not all that great at controlling them, which is another reason why I came here"

"Well, I'll leave you two to it then," Logan said

He headed back into the mansion, stopping suddenly and sniffing the air. There was an intruder in the mansion. He headed towards the nearest classroom, finding all the students had been knocked unconscious. This was the same result for the other two classrooms. Getting worried, Logan started searching for Rogue and Bobby, relived when he found them conscious in the hallway, running towards him

"What's going on here?" he asked, "All the students are down"

"No idea. We kinda snuck out of class and found them like that when we came back," Bobby replied

"Right. Let's go then. Gotta find who or what this is"

"Logan! What's going on here?" came Storm's voice

"Ah nuts, here we go"

Logan headed over to Storm, where she was busy trying to revive the students

"Someone's here," Logan replied, "It's a human, young and feminine. She's quick, very quick. And stealthy"

"Rogue, Bobby, help these students," Storm said, "Alex, you come with me"

Alex, Storm and Logan headed upstairs together, searching for the intruder. Alex was suddenly thrown onto his face, as Storm and Logan whirled around. Storm was punched down onto Alex, while Logan was thrown against the wall. Alex raised a hand, firing a large energy blast, but ended up blasting a hole through the ceiling. The intruder kicked Alex across the face, knocking him out, then punching Storm and kicking Logan at the same time. He fell down the stairs, while Storm was thrown through the window. She caught herself in the air, her eyes turning white as the clouds turned dark. The intruder dived out of the way when a lightning bolt was fired at her

Logan got to his feet, claws exiting his fists, as he headed back up the stairs, finding Storm unconscious, as the intruder faced him. She had long black hair and bright green eyes, while wearing a dark tank top, tight pants and heavy boots. Logan had a slight thought that she looked like him, as his eyes were drawn to her hands. Two long, adamantinum-covered claws were projecting from her fists

"You're the one called Wolverine, right?" she asked

"What's it to you? Who the hell are you?"

"I'm what they call X23"

She lunged at Logan, swinging her claws. He stepped back, as X23 kicked him in the stomach, throwing him down the stairs. He groaned when he reached the bottom, getting to his feet as X23 came bounding off the walls and kicking him in the chest. Stumbling back, Logan let out a small growl and slashed. She blocked and stabbed him in the stomach. Logan grabbed her arm and slashed her across the face, before removing her claws from his body and stabbing her in the stomach. X23 groaned, as her facial cuts healed and Logan felt pain in his groin. He stumbled back, as X23 kicked him, a claw popping out of her foot and slicing into his stomach. Grabbing her by the leg, Logan slammed her against the wall, then grabbed her and threw her against the opposite wall. She crashed through it, as he followed after her. X23 got up and slashed at him, as he blocked, but scored a few more hits to the torso

"Will you stop for a minute?" Logan asked, grabbing her by the arms, "You're gonna tell me what the hell is going on here"

"Not gonna happen," X23 replied, kicking Logan and doing a back flip in chorus

Logan let out a small growl, missing her with a slash as she kicked him onto several desk. X23 lunged, stabbing downwards, but Logan blocked and kicked her over him, before getting to his feet, as she charged. Logan caught her and threw her against the wall. She went to get up, but Logan stabbed his two outside claws into the wall around her head, the middle claw having been retracted, otherwise, it would have impaled her in the face

"Now, I'm gonna remove my claws and you're gonna calm down. Got it?"

X23 glared at him, as he retracted his claws and stepped back. She slowly got up, her claws sliding back into her body, her injuries healing at the same rate as Logan's. At that moment, Rogue and Bobby rushed into the classroom, followed by Storm. X23 tensed up, her claws shooting back out again

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, let's stop it right there," Logan cried, getting between X23 and his team-mates, "I think we've done enough fighting. Don't you?" he added at X23

She didn't reply, but simply retracted her claws and started to walk out of the empty classroom, but a frozen Bobby stood in her way. She growled at him, but he didn't back down, as Logan headed over

"Let her pass before she kills you," he said

Bobby stepped aside, as X23 walked past them and out into the hallway

"How are the students?" Logan asked

"They'll be fine," Storm replied, "I can't believe she took everyone down. Including Colossus. Where the hell did she come from?"

"That's what I'm about to find out"

Logan left the classroom and followed after X23. She stopped, seemingly waiting for him, before heading outside into the backyard, where Logan soon joined her

_-XXXX-_


	3. Chapter 3

_-XXXX-_

"So, who are you?" Logan asked

"I am what they call X23," the young girl replied, sitting down on a park bench, "But my mother called me Laura"

"Okay, who's they?"

"Weapon X. the ones responsible for creating you. Stryker. He was the one in charge"

"Stryker. Messing with mutants again," Logan muttered under his breath

"You don't like him"

"Of course not. Thanks to him, I can't remember much before the procedure. But tell me about you. How'd you come around?"

Laura didn't reply as she withdrew a folded piece of paper from her pocket and handed it to him. He unfolded it, showing a small photo of himself, as well as another photo of a woman whom Logan could only guess was Laura's mother. Sitting next to the young girl on the bench, he began to read the form, which contained a basic detail of how Laura came into existence. How she was a genetic clone of himself, born and raised to be a killer, an assassin for Stryker to use against other mutants

"So…uh…where's your mother?" Logan asked

"I killed her by accident," Laura replied, "She told me to come here before she died"

_-XXXX-_

"How's everything coming along?" Xavier asked

He was now on his feet, walking about, which caused some discomfort for Moira, who was still not used to the fact that Xavier was in another man's body. Hopefully, that was all going to change by the end of the week

"Everything's going great. I think we're gonna have a body done earlier than expected," Moira said, "Which is good news indeed"

"I have to say this, but thank you for everything so far, Moira," Xavier said

"Hey, you can always count on me to replicate your body for you"

"I know I can. Thank you"

Xavier headed back to his bed, as Moira typed her work onto the computer, working out all the mathematical problems and having Xavier's proper body reconstructed

_-XXXX-_

"So, let me get this straight," Magneto said slowly, "That teleporter that was with us at Alkali Lake? That is your son?"

"Uh-huh," Mystique said, "I gave birth to him about thirty years ago"

"And I also have a son? And a daughter? And they're twins?"

"Yep. Birth certificates don't lie. I know where they are"

"Where? We shall go to them at once. They could be useful"

"Well then, shall we get going?"

_-XXXX-_

"You know, you're one of the last mutants I thought I'd come across"

Sabretooth whirled around to face the smiling blond teenaged boy. Letting out a warning growl, he turned back to his beer. Ever since being blasted off the Statue of Liberty by Cyclops, Sabretooth had kept a low profile, while keeping an ear out on the X-Men and the Brotherhood. He had chosen not to partake in the battle on Alcatraz Island mainly due to personal reasons. He liked his abilities and didn't want to lose them to some cure. So he travelled about, moving from bar to bar. No one gave him a second glance and that's the way he preferred it. However, now there was this teenaged kid giving him a cocky grin and just about exposing him to everyone else

"It must have hurt falling off the Statue of Liberty," John said

"Would you like to find out how much it'll hurt?" Sabretooth growled, "It sounds like you're dying to know"

"Tempting, but I'll pass. So this is where the great Sabretooth has ended up?"

"Keep it up, kid. I'll tear you to shreds"

"Now that sounds better"

"What do you want?"

"I want revenge against the X-Men," John replied

He had been drifting about himself and couldn't believe his luck when he came across Sabretooth in the bar. He had heard about the mutant from Magneto and had wanted to meet him, being sure that his defeat from the X-Men didn't kill him. So now here he was, talking to Sabretooth and trying to not get his throat torn out

"Yeah, so?" Sabretooth replied, "Go have your revenge"

"I know you want to be a part of it," John continued, "How could a guy like you take a beating like that and lay low. If I were you, I'd be up and at them"

"If I were you, I'd shut up and let me drink my beer"

"Someone's testy"

"Boy, you won't like it when I'm angry, so do yourself a favour and leave"

"Look, I'm in need of some guys for the Brotherhood. I'm starting it all up. Magneto's out of the picture. I need a guy like you on my team. Come on, think about it. We could get some more guys and destroy the X-Men"

"You're full of dreams, kid. You won't win"

"Well, not unless you're on my team. What do you say, Sabretooth?"

"Sounds interesting. We get our ass kicked, I'm killing you personally"

"It's a deal then"

_-XXXX-_

"How's she doing?" Storm asked

"Well, she's not trying to kill me, which is an improvement," Logan replied

He looked outside, where Laura was still sitting on the park bench, even though night had fallen. Alex's accommodations had been taken care of, while most of the students were in bed. Logan had mainly been watching over Laura, who was keeping to herself, staying outside on the bench

"You should bring her in here," Storm said

"You're the one who has the nice, calm voice and all that"

"Logan, its your clone or whatever she is. Daughter or something, I don't know. You bring her in here. I have got a room for her. It's next to yours"

"Okay fine then"

Logan headed outside, as Laura looked over at him

"You can come inside, you know. No need to stay out here all night"

"I'm fine"

"Seriously, Laura, come inside. We've got a room for you next to mine"

"Yeah, okay then"

Laura started to get up, but Logan stopped her, sniffing the air and listening intently. She also did the same, unsheathing her claws, as Logan did the same. A few military soldiers burst out the bushes, aiming their rifles, but Logan and Laura took them down without killing them. Logan then had a close look at their insignia

"S.H.I.E.L.D?"

Several more soldiers, Storm and another man came out into the backyard

"Ah, Logan, you have her," Nick Fury said with a smile

"Who the hell are you?" Logan asked

"I'm Nick Fury, head of S.H.I.E.L.D. We've been tracking X23 for some time now. Almost ever since she escaped. She's wanted for questioning over several deaths"

Laura let out a small growl, which only Logan heard, as the soldiers surrounded them

"I've got an idea. No"

"Excuse me? You're gonna ign-"

"Yeah, damn right I am. You take your men and you get off this property now, before I kill the whole lot of you. You don't come anywhere near this girl"

"Logan-" Storm started

"No, Storm. I'm not letting this goons take her away. Simple"

"Very well then, Logan," Nick said, "If you wish. But I warn you; X23 is a very dangerous weapon. Possibly more dangerous than you. Let's go men"

Nick turned and left, as his men picked up the downed soldiers and followed after him. Storm was about to say something, but Logan cut her off, heading into the mansion, as Laura followed after him. He showed her her room and closed the door behind her, before heading to his own room

"_God, what a day,"_ he thought, before drifting off to sleep

_-XXXX-_


	4. Chapter 4

**Now this is kinda interesting. Last night I came across a video on YouTube. It was a fanmade trailer for X-Men 4, subtitled...Apocalypse Rising. Took me by surprise, that's for sure. Just thought I'd mention that. Also, there might be (emphasis on might) a fourth X-Men film with Apocalypse as the villian. We'll just have to wait and see**

_-XXXX-_

"Well, here we are," Mystique said, pulling up, "This is where your son lives"

Magneto stared at the house, before slowly getting out and heading up to the door. Mystique joined him in her Grace persona, as he knocked on the door three times. A few seconds later, the door swung open and a little blond girl stood before them

"Hello there," Magneto said

"Can I help you?" the young girl asked

"Is your father home?"

"Yeah. You wanna see him"

"Yes"

The little girl ran off, returning a few minutes later in the arms of her father, who looked like a younger version of Magneto, albeit with trimmed white hair

"Yeah, can I help you?" Pietro Maximoff asked

"My name is Eric Lensherr," Magneto replied, "I am your father"

"Can't be. My father died years ago. My mother told me"

"I have the birth certificate right here"

Magneto held out the birth certificate, as Pietro took it and had a look at it. His daughter tried to peer at it as well, but he held it away from her

"So, what do you want?" Pietro asked, handing the certificate back

"I just want to talk," Magneto replied, "May we come inside?"

"Yeah, sure. Luna, go and tell your mother we have company"

"Okay, Daddy"

Pietro put Luna down and she ran off, as he let Magneto and Mystique inside

_-XXXX-_

"So, what is she gonna do now?" Rogue asked

"No idea," Logan replied, "She's got nowhere else to go, so I think she's gonna be staying here for a while"

"She's gonna be in our classes?" Bobby asked

"Yeah, I guess so. Storm's putting her in"

"And what was with the commandos last night?"

"Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D wanted to arrest her. I told him to go screw"

"Think she'll be okay?" Rogue asked

"She should be alright," Logan replied, "Where she grew up was…quite hard on her. She's going to find it difficult to fit in"

"What about Scott's brother?" Bobby asked as they headed towards class

"Well, normally the professor would be teaching him how to control his powers, but with the professor gone, it's up to Storm or me to help him"

Rogue and Bobby headed off to class, as Logan went out into the garage and continued working on Scott's motorcycle…which he now claimed as his own. Not long after he started working, he felt a small presence behind him

"Shouldn't you be in class?" Logan asked, before looking over his shoulder

"I just wanted to know what you were doing," Laura replied

"Fixing my motorcycle. Go to class"

"Can you show me how to fix one?"

Logan raised an eyebrow, a small smile appearing

"Okay then, kid, come over here"

Laura put her schoolbag aside and knelt down beside Logan, watching closely as he showed her how to fix a motorcycle and how to perform an oil change. By the end of the day, Logan had a feeling Laura knew the mechanical insides and outsides of the motorcycle, as he took her back inside to get cleaned up. He had to admit; he didn't mind her hanging around him. He would help her with the best he could do

_-XXXX-_

He opened his eyes, taking in a deep gasp. Then quickly wished he didn't open his eyes, as a section of the cavern ceiling came falling down around him. He rolled over and moved away from the falling debris, made a little difficult in the fact that he hadn't used his limbs or body in about two months. Breathing heavily, he felt his way around the cavern, unable to open his eyes in case he brought the whole place down upon him. Scott felt the cool air of the night as he ventured outside the cavern, before slowly making his way out into the night, blinded by his powers

_-XXXX-_

"So, you're the one called Magneto?" Pietro asked

"Yes, I am him," Magneto replied, taking a seat beside Mystique

"Yeah, big thing you had going on the news with the cure and all. Your big war you had on humanity. How'd that turn out?"

"Not as well as I expected"

"Well, they have no right to try and cure us like that. We don't need to be cured"

"So, what can you do?" Magneto asked with interest

Pietro suddenly moved out of his seat into the kitchen and then back again, all in the blink of an eye

"Ah, I once met a mutant who had similar powers to you. Shame she died"

"Well, I know you can control metal. Saw it all on the news"

"And what about your sister? Where is she?"

"Wanda? Across the street actually," Pietro replied, "Shall we go say hi and have ourselves a big family reunion?"

"Yes, I think we shall," Magneto agreed, "And then, we'll figure things out from there"

_-XXXX-_

"Where are the survivors of Alcatraz?" Pyro demanded

"Everywhere, man," the mutant replied, "I don't know where all of them are, but I know where a few are. Some of them may be of interest to you"

"Tell me where they are or my buddy eats you"

Sabretooth let out a small growl, as the mutant quickly told Pyro the location. Satisfied, Pyro let the mutant go and headed off with Sabretooth close behind him

"You think Magneto would be part of them?" Sabretooth asked

"I don't know. I don't know what happened to him. But we'll find out"

Pyro signalled a taxi and gave the driver the destination, before getting driven to a back alley pub, where a lot of noise was generating

"This should be good," Pyro said with a grin

He and Sabretooth stepped inside, as nearly everyone sober enough faced them

"To hell with the humans," Pyro called out

A majority of the mutants replied back in agreement, as one of the mutants stood up, towering over the rest of them, his muscles bulging as he flexed them

"I remember you," Juggernaut said with a grin, "What brings you here"

"I want to destroy the X-Men," Pyro said, "With them gone, we can get rid of the humans that plague our lives and take over like we're supposed to"

"What makes you think we all hate the humans?" asked another mutant

He had shaggy brown hair, with dark red eyes and was wearing a trench coat over dark clothing, a small deck of cards in his gloved hand

"Who are you?" Pyro asked

"The name's Gambit"

"Well, Gambit, if you love the humans so much, go ahead and join them. Anyone who wants to take their rightful place above them, come with me"

"See, now I don't think that's right," Gambit said

Pyro created a small fireball with the firestarter wristband he still had

"You want to mess with me, Gambit?"

Gambit grinned, then flicked his wrist, throwing the decks of cards. However, each card was covered in a sheen of red energy, as they spread out towards Pyro. He created a jet of flames, burning the cards, as Gambit next threw a chair charged with energy. It struck Pyro and exploded, blasting him out of the pub. He groaned and got to his feet, storming back into the pub, but Gambit wasn't anywhere in sight

"So, who wants to join the Brotherhood?" Pyro asked

_-XXXX-_


	5. Chapter 5

_-XXXX-_

She slowly made her way up to the front door; summoning what strength she had to knock on the door, feeling weaker because of it. She swayed on the spot, unsure of how long she was going to stay conscious for, when the door swung open, revealing Rogue there, who frowned, confusion also thrown in her look

"Jean?"

Rogue then stumbled when she had to catch the falling former X-Man. Bobby soon joined her, as Peter picked Jean up with ease and headed off to the medical ward, where they were joined by Storm

"What's going on here? Is that Jean?"

"Seems to be," Bobby replied, "Which is really confusing. Isn't she dead?"

Peter laid her out onto a table, as Storm shooed them out the door and off to class. Just as she was about to close the door, Logan burst into the room, looking breathless

"I heard them…talking…and I smelt her…is it really her?"

"Looks like," Storm replied, "But…she's dead?"

Storm and Logan stared down at the comatose Jean Grey, having no idea of what was going on at all. After about five minutes, Logan headed out into the backyard, seeing that Jean's grave was undisturbed, before heading back into the medical ward, questions running through his mind at a thousand miles per second

_"How is she alive?"_

_-XXXX-_

Logan sighed as he put his body down to rest. It had been a tough day, especially with the sudden appearance of Jean. He was completely confused as to how she was alive again. He was pretty sure he killed her at Alcatraz. When Jean was awake, he would find out the truth. For all he knew, it could be Mystique, but then he realized that it wasn't Mystique, but really Jean, simply because of her scent. He knew Jean's scent so vividly, it was like it was all around him and he was drowning in her

Logan soon drifted off to sleep, letting his mind rest. About twenty minutes after he had fallen into a deep sleep, his bedroom window opened slowly so it didn't make much noise, as a figure slipped into the room, creeping towards Logan's bed and standing over his prone form, as claws began to emerge from the intruder's fists, two from between his knuckles and one from his wrist. Just as he raised his fist, Laura burst into the room, her claws unsheathed as she lunged at the attacker. Logan shot upright in his bed when he heard the crashing, Laura getting kicked across the room. The intruder got to his feet, before diving out of the window, as several other students arrived at the door to see what the commotion was all about. Laura got to her feet, sheathing her claws as Logan joined her

"What just happened?"

"I heard movement in your room and I knew you were asleep"

"What were you doing lurking outside my bedroom?"

"Protecting your life"

She strode out of the room, as Logan told the students to go back to bed. He headed over to the window, breathing in the new scent, before closing his bedroom door, getting dressed and heading out into the night

_-XXXX-_

Pyro, Sabretooth and Juggernaut made their way through the shopping centre. The young mutant had managed to gather a small force of mutants with resentment towards humanity. And now they were about to show humanity that the Brotherhood was back and meant business, that they were here to stay. Amongst the trio was another mutant by the name of Lady Deathstrike. She was somehow alive following her battle with Wolverine at Alkali Lake and wanted to take revenge on him for it

"Alright, let's show 'em," Pyro said

He created a small fireball and launched it at the nearest shop. People ran screaming from the burning shop, as Pyro grinned and set another shop on fire. Security guards showed up, but he set them ablaze as well, while Sabretooth and Deathstrike took out several other guards

"Wanna go for a run, Marko?" Pyro asked

"Need to give my legs a stretch"

Juggernaut put his helmet on, before running off, bowling over security guards, as he smashed through the shop walls and causing a great deal of destruction, while Pyro laughed, enjoying the chaos as he let loose several fireballs at once

_-XXXX-_

"What's going on here?" Storm asked, coming into the living room where a group of students were surrounding the TV, watching the news

"One of the big shopping malls was burned down," Peter replied, "We're about to see the CCTV shots"

The reporter replayed the video taken from the security cameras in the mall, revealing Pyro, Sabretooth, Deathstrike and Juggernaut destroying the mall. Storm froze upon seeing her former student amongst the attackers. There was also a shot of a wall with the words 'The Brotherhood is back to stay' carved upon it

"Mutants attacked the mall?" Storm said

"This doesn't look good for any of us," Bobby said, "What do we do?"

"Hey, where's Logan?" Rogue asked suddenly

"I haven't seen him all day," Storm replied, "Anyone else see him?"

Most of the students shook their head. Storm had a quick look around, before realizing that someone else wasn't in the mansion as well

"Where's Laura?" she asked

_-XXXX-_

Logan followed the scent trail to a busy crowded area, but quickly lost it. He let out a growl of frustration, before whirling around to see Laura standing before him

"Kid, stop following me around," he growled

"The attacker had claws like us," she replied, "I wanted to find out more as well"

"No you don't. You're going back to the mansion"

Logan headed towards Laura, but stopped when the fire engines and ambulance roared past. Frowning, he headed after them with Laura in tow, reaching the mall where news reporters and police officers had set up camp, as the fire officers went to work on the building, putting the flames out while ambulance crew were tending to the injured. Logan and Laura headed closer to the mall, trying to find out more

"What happened here?" Laura asked

Logan stopped and sniffed the air. A familiar scent came to him and he growled

"Sabretooth"

_-XXXX-_

Jean slowly opened her eyes. Letting out a small sigh when she recognised the familiar room she was in, she slowly sat up, taking a better look around. Almost instantly, memories came flooding back to her, especially the moment under Alkali Lake, when she had allowed the water to swallow her. How the Phoenix had manifested, wrapping Jean in a cocoon of telekinetic energy, before taking her place. After all this time, Jean had been recovering beneath Alkali Lake, while the Phoenix masqueraded as her. However, she knew she still had the Phoenix inside her. Not only that, but she had memories of the Phoenix's time before she died at Alcatraz

Jean didn't quite understand why she was here, as she slid off the table and made her way out of the medical ward, coming across Kitty and Peter almost instantly

"Uh, hi, Jean, how you feeling?" Kitty asked

"Fine, I think, thanks," Jean said, "Where's Ororo?"

"Headmistress Office," Peter replied, "Come on, we'll take you there"

Jean followed after the pair to Storm's office. Along the way, she kept having flashbacks to the battle on Alcatraz, as well as the conversation between her and the Phoenix under Alkali Lake

"Jean, you're up," Storm cried, "How are you feeling?"

Peter and Kitty left, as Storm led Jean into her office and sat her down

"I, uh, feel…somewhat better?"

"How can you be alive again? Sorry, but I just gotta ask. Logan killed you"

"That wasn't me," Jean said slowly, "That wasn't me"

"Okay, you gotta explain that one to me"

"Can I get some clothes first?"

"Yeah, sure. Come on. And then we're gonna have a big talk"

_-XXXX-_


	6. Chapter 6

_-XXXX-_

"You got to be kidding me," Storm said, "All that time, it wasn't you?"

Jean shook her head

"I was in a comatose state, recovering. The Phoenix was masquerading as me"

"And you also have the Phoenix and you share collective memories?"

"Yeah, something like that"

"Okay, this is seriously mental," Storm said, shaking her head, "This is very difficult to take in"

"I understand. The Phoenix wasn't exactly a nice person. After all she did"

"I'm gonna need some time to try and work all this out"

"I'll leave you to it"

Jean left the office and headed off, coming downstairs just as Logan and Laura arrived. Logan instantly noticed her and focused his eyes completely on her. Laura noticed this and frowned, not exactly understanding what was happening. When Logan continued to stare at Jean, she shrugged and headed off

"So, you're up and about," Logan said

"And you're back from wherever you went," Jean replied

"Ah, someone tried to kill me last night. Luckily Laura was there"

"Who's Laura?"

"She was right here a second ago. Uh, she's uh, it's complicated"

"It's okay. You can tell me later"

"So, last I remember, you died. Wanna explain that one to me?"

"It wasn't me"

"What do you mean 'it wasn't you'? It sure was you. I could smell it"

"The Phoenix was masquerading as me. It used my form, scent, memories, you name it, everything. I was still under Alkali Lake when it all went down"

"You know about that battle?"

"Yes. The Phoenix and I shared collective memories. So I know what she did"

"Oh," Logan said, remembering the time he nearly had sex with the Phoenix

Jean seemed to know what he was thinking about, recalling the memory as well. She wouldn't have minded, except for the fact that she was with Scott. But Scott was no longer around, thanks to her. In reality, she couldn't really remember what had happened to Scott. The Phoenix had passed out at that point, so whether Scott was alive or not was unknown. A sad look overcame Jean and she turned away

"You okay?" Logan asked with concern

"I'm fine…I just need some time alone, that's all"

"Okay then"

Jean headed off, as Logan headed towards the Danger Room, eager to get his mind off things with some training. However, he was quite surprise to see Laura standing there

"What are you up to?" Logan asked

"I want to train," Laura said, "I heard you are the students' trainer"

"Yeah, and?"

"I want to train with you"

"Suit yourself, kid. Come on," Logan with a sigh

He headed inside, as Laura followed after him, eager to train with him

_-XXXX-_

"These mutant attacks seem quite brazen," said President McKenna

"I have no idea why the Brotherhood are attacking humans," Hank McCoy said, "We mutants co-exist peacefully with the humans now. I don't understand"

"Perhaps you could find out for me. You have connections with the X-Men"

"I am sure that they know of this already and are looking into it"

"Tell them to find the Brotherhood and put a stop to their antics"

"I will contact Ororo at once and tell her of this"

Hank turned and left the office, as the President sighed and stared out the window

_-XXXX-_

_An hour later…_

Storm and Hank headed towards the Danger Room to get Logan. On the way to the room, Hank told Storm about the Brotherhood's current whereabouts and that they had attacked another place populated heavily with humans. The casualties had been bad, with about twenty to thirty dead and more injured. Some mutants had been included in the attack, though not many were recorded

"I cannot understand why the Brotherhood is doing this," Hank said, reaching the Danger Room, "What is compelling them to these attacks?"

"Well, we're about to find out," Storm said, opening the door, "Logan!"

Logan immediately stopped his training with Laura and headed over to her

"What's the go? Hey there, furball"

"We're heading out to investigate the Brotherhood's attacks," Storm said, "You're coming with me. Get everyone else"

"How we getting there?" Logan asked, "We have no jet"

"It's coming," Storm said, then off Logan's look, "I contacted some of the Professor's friends, getting hold of one who built the jet. He has a second one. It's coming"

"When's it getting here?"

"Another hour or two"

"We don't have much time," Hank said, "Take my helicopter. I'll stay with the children"

"I wish to come," Laura said

"No, you're staying here," Logan replied almost instantly

"Let her come," Storm said, "She could be helpful"

"Fine. But Laura, you do what I say, got it?"

"Of course"

"Good, let's go"

The group left the Danger Room, as Logan got Peter, Bobby, Kitty and Rogue. Storm suited up and started prepping the helicopter, as the rest of the X-Men and Laura joined her. Hank stood in the doorway, watching them take off, as Jean joined him

"Where are they going?" she asked, causing Hank to jump in shock

"Good grief, Jean Grey, I thought you were dead," Hank cried

"Eh, formerly. Alive now. So, where are they going?"

"To sort out the Brotherhood. You have to tell me your story"

"Here I go again"

_-XXXX-_

"Ah-ha," Moira cried

"It worked, didn't it?" Charles asked

"Indeed it did. I've got your body waiting for you"

"Excellent. Let's get started on it"

Charles got up from the bed and with some help from Moira, headed into the laboratory, where his cloned body resided in a tank, hooked up to a respirator and monitors. A wheelchair was brought over to Charles to help brace his current body as he sat down and was wheeled before the tank. Moira watched as Charles focused his energies on his cloned body, eventually transporting his conscious across. His previous body fell limp, as orderlies wheeled the body out and back into the room. Charles opened his eyes, as Moira ordered the tank to be emptied. Once it was empty, the tank opened up, depositing the falling Charles into Moira's arms, as he was covered in a blanket. He looked at his fingers, then touched his face, before looking up at Moira with a smile

"Thank you…very much"

Then he passed out

_-XXXX-_

"Hey, look at what we got here," Pyro said

He watched as the helicopter landed on one of the building rooftops and the X-Men stepped out, before making their way down the building and into the small rest area near one of the busy markets. However, the markets were virtually empty thanks to the Brotherhood's attack on the place just earlier. Some of the shops were still smoking, as Pyro faced the X-Men

"Long time, no see," he grinned

"John, what is going on here?" Storm asked, "Why are you doing this?"

"Because I feel like it. You got a problem with it?"

Sabretooth, Juggernaut, Deathstrike and the newly re-found Toad joined him

"I thought you three were dead," Wolverine said

"Guess not," Toad said, "Now it'll be your turn to die"

"Say goodnight," Pyro said, creating a small fireball and launching it

_-XXXX-_


	7. Chapter 7

_-XXXX-_

Storm and Wolverine were blasted through the air by the fireball. Iceman struck Pyro with a beam of ice, as Juggernaut put his helmet on and starting charging. Colossus assumed his metallic form and clashed with Juggernaut, getting smashed through a market stall. Getting to his feet uninjured, Colossus stepped out of the wreckage, as Juggernaut slammed into him, heading deeper into the markets. Toad leapt forth with surprising speed and agility, catching Rogue and Shadowcat off guard as he took them down. X23 extracted her claws, as Deathstrike brought forth her long claws

"Holy shit," X23 said

She was caught off guard when Deathstrike spun around like a tornado in the air, slashing her across the face several times, then kicking her through a stone seat. Wolverine and Storm got to their feet, as Sabretooth charged and struck them both. Storm was thrown through the air, as Wolverine unsheathed his claws and stabbed. Sabretooth caught his arm and threw him over his shoulder. Juggernaut came crashing out of a third storey building, as Colossus jumped down after him

"You smell like Wolverine," Deathstrike said, "Are you his child?"

"Depends on how you look at it," X23 replied, her injuries healing

She slashed, but Deathstrike blocked and stabbed her in the stomach, then slashed her across the face twice, before kicking her down. Flicking out a foot claw, X23 stabbed into Deathstrike's stomach, as the mutant grabbed her leg and tossed her through the air. Shadowcat phased through Toad when he lunged at her, but he used his tongue to pull himself onto a parking meter, then launch back at Shadowcat, taking her down before she had time to turn around. Rogue swung her fist, but Toad caught her fist, poked his tongue at her and kicked her in the stomach, then her face, knocking her down, while blowing a raspberry at her

Storm struck Sabretooth with a lightning bolt, blasting him across the street, as she was struck by a jet of fire from Pyro. Iceman punched Pyro with a frozen fist, followed by a knee to the jaw. Pyro chuckled and blasted Iceman with a fireball. Wolverine went to strike Sabretooth, but felt his body freeze up. He couldn't move a muscle, as Sabretooth looked for the source and found Magneto floating down through the air. He turned Wolverine on the spot and brought him close

"Thought you had me, didn't you?"

Magneto threw Wolverine through a shop, before catching Colossus with his powers and launching him through the air. Pietro appeared, taking down Iceman, X23, Rogue and Shadowcat before they had time to blink, while his twin sister, Wanda, used her magic to trap Storm inside an energy bubble

"So, how are we all?" Magneto asked, "Enjoying ourselves?"

Wolverine stepped out of the markets, growling as he headed towards Magneto

"Why do you even bother?" he asked, lifting Wolverine up with his powers

"So, the cure didn't take?" Wolverine asked

"Silly humans. Thinking they can cure us. We are the cure to the human problem"

"Humans aren't a problem, not anymore," Storm asked

"That's what you think, my dear. But give it time. Soon, the humans will turn on us once again and we'll be back to square one"

"Doesn't help that your hothead boy over there makes things worse," said Wolverine

"I was just looking for a bit of fun," Pyro said with a grin

"Can we kill them?" Sabretooth asked

At that moment, the X-Jet arrived, hovering above the buildings. Storm looked up and saw that Jean and Hank were piloting the plane. Magneto released his hold over Wolverine, as Wanda took the hint and dropped Storm

"I'll let you go this once. Next time, don't expect me to be so merciful"

"Yeah, sure, whatever bub," Wolverine said, "Come on, kids"

The hatch opened up, as Iceman created a stairway of ice, breaking it once everyone was onboard and heading back to the Institute

"So, we got the plane. That should make things a little easier," Wolverine said

_-XXXX-_

"Magneto has his powers back?" Hank asked

"Tossed me and Colossus round like we were ragdolls," Logan said

"Magneto's back on the scene. This is not going to be good," Storm said, "He will continue his war against humanity, even though there is no need for it"

"Magneto has been bitter against humans for a very long time," Hank said, "It's highly unlikely he'll drop that anytime soon. The way he sees it is that mutants are superior and should rule the planet, wiping humanity from it"

"I can only imagine what the humans are gonna do," Logan said

"Um, guys, we have a visitor," Emma said, entering the office

She stepped aside as a young man with shaggy brown hair and red eyes entered

"And who are you?" Hank asked

"The name's Remy LeBeau, but you can call me Gambit"

"What can we do for you?" asked Storm

"I'm here to help you fight against the Brotherhood," Gambit replied

_-XXXX-_

"Hey"

Rogue looked up at Bobby and then looked back at her hands, as he joined her

"How you doing?"

"Fine"

"You're not fine. I can tell"

"I'm just worried that's all"

"About the cure? About the no-so-permanent cure"

"I can't go back to that, Bobby. I don't want to"

"We'll have to wait and see about that. Don't worry, I'll ask Hank to see if he can get a more permanent version of the cure if you like"

"Thanks. I'd like that"

"That's what I'm here for," Bobby said, wrapping an arm around her

_-XXXX-_

"So, you're back," Pyro said, "Does that mean you're the leader again?"

"Well, while you did do a fine job," Magneto said, "Yes I am"

"Who are these two?" Sabretooth asked

"These are some accomplices of mine that I came across previously. Everyone, meet Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch"

"It's a pleasure, especially you, young lass," Juggernaut said with a grin at Wanda

"So, what do we do now?" Pyro asked, "I'm going for kill all humans"

"They force a cure upon us and then force us to live with them," Magneto said, "Homo sapiens, trying by any means to control the world and us"

"Yep, he's going with kill all humans," Juggernaut said, "Just tell us how"

"Of course, it's not gonna be easy with the X-Men," Pyro said

"Then we'll just have to find some way to get rid of them," Magneto said

"Don't worry, we'll do it," Pyro said, "It's as good as done"

"We need more mutants for this. And I know that there are thousands of mutants all wanting to strike back against their oppressors. So, shall we get started?"

_-XXXX-_

"Magneto's going to try and start another war, I can see it," Storm said

"He's seriously messed up," Logan said, "But the one question that is running through my mind is how those mutants are alive. Especially Deathstrike. If I remember correctly, I filled her body up adamantinum. No way she could survive that"

"Maybe it wasn't really her," Storm said, "You know, like Jean"

"No, I doubt that. It's completely confusing me"

"We need to focus on finding and stopping Magneto," Hank said

Suddenly, Storm and Logan straightened up and started leaving the office

"What's going on?" Hank asked

"We're going to the front door," Storm replied, "I don't know why, but I feel like I must"

They reached the front door and opened it, shock and surprise crossing their faces when they saw Professor Xavier standing before them

"Hello there," Xavier said

_-XXXX-_


	8. Chapter 8

_-XXXX-_

"What is it with everyone coming back from the dead?" Logan asked

"Maybe because we weren't dead to begin with," Xavier replied

"So explain all this to us, Chuck, including the walking part"

"Just before the Phoenix destroyed my body, I transported my conscious into the body of a comatose man at Muir Island. Moira McTaggert worked hard to clone my original body, giving me the ability to walk again and I did the same thing again"

"I wonder who'll be next to come back from the dead," Logan said sarcastically

"Jean is alive, isn't she?" Xavier asked

"Yeah, I am," Jean said, walking into the office, her long hair tied back, "But you have to know that it was-"

"I know it wasn't you"

Jean looked puzzled at first, but then realization came over her

"Oh"

"Now that we're past that, we must focus on the Brotherhood," Xavier said

"You know about that?" Logan said

"I watch the news. And I am psychic. I also know that the cure wasn't permanent as previously thought. But I don't understand about those who died and are back. The one that stands out the most is Lady Deathstrike"

Logan frowned, then glared at the professor

"Stay outta my mind," he growled

"Sorry, but we must get to the bottom of this"

"Well, you lot have fun with that," Logan said, walking out, "When you get to the fighting, just direct me towards it, got it?"

He left the office and headed towards his room, where Jean joined him a few minutes later. He let out a small sigh when he heard and smelled her enter

"Are you okay, Logan?" she asked

"Yeah, I'm fine"

"No, you're not. I can tell"

"A lot of things going on. Too much to process"

"Everything will be okay"

"That's what I keep telling myself. But I don't think it will be. Not for a while"

"There's a lot on your mind. Maybe I can help you ease it all"

"Thanks, Jean, but I'm not up for the whole talking thing"

"I can tell that you're mostly concerned about X23 or Laura as you like to call her"

"Kid shows up out of nowhere, tries to kill me while saying she is my clone. She went through the same horrible stuff I did, only she's been doing it since she was born"

"She'll be fine. She has you. Someone who understands what happened to her"

"I'm glad you're back at least. Even if the whole damn thing is confusing to me"

"I understand and I'm sorry for that"

Logan faced her and gave her a small smile

"I don't know what I'd do without you. I think I would have gone insane in the end"

"I doubt that. You have everyone else here to keep you sane. Mainly Rogue"

Jean took a step closer towards Logan

"I remember what you said to her. I know you meant it for me. I saw in your eyes that you really meant it. And I know you would do just that. And I also know that-"

She was abruptly cut off when Logan suddenly grabbed her, pulled her close and slammed his lips against hers. Jean was surprised by the sudden move and barely registered Logan's lips on hers. When she did, her arms went around his neck and he pulled her close to him. She could feel the Phoenix slowly driving her desires and ignored it slightly. However, as she pulled back, ecstasy on her face and looked at Logan, a horrifying memory came flashing back at her

Scott screaming in pain and disappearing in a flash of light, nothing else known what happened to him

"Jean?" Logan inquired

"I'm sorry, Logan, I can't do this"

She abruptly turned and left the room, as Logan puzzeledly watched her go, too surprised by it all to try and stop her, wondering what it was that had put her off

_-XXXX-_

"What do we do about Magneto?" Storm asked, "He's back and gonna want revenge"

"We have to try and find him," Xavier replied, "I'll use Cerebo, but it won't be easy"

"We can assume his plan is to wipe out all humanity," Hank said, "But when he is planning that or how, we don't know"

"He'll most likely try to rebuild an army," Storm said, "But after what happened last time, I'm not so sure it'll be easy for him"

"We can't underestimate Magneto," Hank said, "Do that and we're good as dead"

"Okay, so we get started on finding him"

"We won't get a lock on Magneto, but I'll try his cohorts," Xavier said

He walked out of the office, as Storm turned to Hank

"I am still not used to that, whatsoever"

"Give it time. You'll get used to it"

Storm was about to say more, when Emma burst into the office

"You have to got to come with me," she said urgently

With worried looks on their faces, Storm and Hank followed after Emma into the medical ward, where Alex was waiting by the bed. But it was the person lying unconscious on the bed that drew their eyes

"Oh my god! How is it possible?" Storm asked with disbelief

"I don't believe it," Hank agreed, "I thought he was dead"

"That's what you told me," Alex said, "But he's not. He's alive"

"When did he get here?" Storm asked, unable to take her eyes off Scott's prone form

"About fifteen minutes ago," Emma replied, "Just appeared out of nowhere. Alex was the one who found me and he got hold of me"

"This is unbelievable," Hank said, "But this could be a cause of good luck for us"

"How so?" asked Storm

"If he recovers in time, he could be helpful in searching for Magneto"

"Well, until that time, how about I help?" Alex offered

"You still haven't got total control over your powers," Storm said

"But I have some control. I could be helpful. Please let me help"

"He could be useful," Hank pointed out

"Fine then," Storm said, "Congratulations, Alex, you made the team"

_-XXXX-_

The person waited until Logan had fallen asleep before heading towards his bedroom window. The person then checked on Laura's bedroom; seeing that she was asleep before turning back to Logan's room and sliding open the window. The person slipped into the room and crept towards the bed. He raised his right fist, as two claws slid out between his knuckles and a third from his wrist. However, before he could strike, he felt three cool adamantinum claws at the base of his neck

"Alright there, bub, turn around slowly and no one gets hurt"

"Nice trick there, Dad. Wasn't expecting that from you"

Logan frowned

"Excuse me?"

The person whirled around, delivering an elbow strike to Logan's jaw, stunning him. Logan was then thrown through his open window, landing on the grass below. He got to his feet, as his son landed before him. Logan had a good look at him. He was about the same height and build as Logan, with a black spiky Mohawk and tribal tattoos on the left side of his chest and arm. Logan noted that his son had three claws, but they were only bone claws and in a slightly different configuration than his own

"So, you called me 'Dad'. Gonna tell me your name, 'son'?"

"It's Daken," his son replied, "And I'm gonna kill you"

Daken lunged and slashed, but Logan dodged him, pushing him away

"Okay, you want to tell me why you want to kill me?"

Daken ignored him as he whirled around with surprising speed and slashed ferociously. Logan was caught by surprise with his speed, as Daken kicked him in the stomach. Logan lost his breath briefly, blocking Daken's right arm and punching him in the jaw. Daken stumbled, as Logan swung his fist again. Daken interlocked their arms and punched Logan in the ribs, slicing into his abdomen. Logan gritted his teeth in pain, as Daken slashed at his face. Logan broke away and twisted, kicking Daken in the mid-section and throwing him onto his back. Daken flipped onto his feet with surprising agility and slashed Logan across the chest, then leaving three deep gashes in his stomach. Logan fell to his knees, trying to keep his guts inside him, as Daken sheathed his claws and sneered at Logan

"Now you know how she felt when you left her there"

"What are you talking about?"

"My mother"

Daken turned and walked away into the night, as Logan felt his injuries heal. He contemplated going after his son, but decided to leave it for now. He didn't understand any of it. His 'son' had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, wanting to kill him for reasons unknown. Logan growled in anger at the frustration of not being able to remember anything before Weapon X

_-XXXX-_


	9. Chapter 9

_-XXXX-_

"You have a son?" Storm asked in confusion

"Apparently so, but I don't remember him or anything surrounding him," Logan said, "Argh, this is frustrating!"

"Maybe I could help unlock those lock memories for you," Xavier suggested

"I gotta find him. I gotta talk to him," Logan said, ignoring Xavier

He grabbed his jacket and headed towards the office door, but Xavier stopped him

"Logan, stop. It's obvious your son is angry. Talking to him isn't going to help. I can help to unlock your lost past and maybe then, you could find out why"

"Okay fine, if it helps me with my son"

"Very well then. Jean and Emma, I may need your help with this. Logan, take a seat"

Logan sighed and sat down, as Xavier, Jean and Emma took up positions around him. Storm and Hank watched as the three telepaths began concentrating on Logan's mind, searching for the lost memories in his mind. Logan tried to relax, but the surfacing of old memories was making it difficult for him. He could remember everything that happened during the Weapon X program and even before that. He could remember his time during World War II, fighting alongside Captain America. Remembered his time in Mexico in 1921 with Mystique. Remembered his life growing up on a plantation back in the 1800's. Logan's eyes snapped opened as his memories flooded him

"Oh god!" he gasped, falling to his hands and knees, "Everything is so…vivid"

And with that, he passed out

"Take him back to his room," Xavier said, "He'll be fine"

"You think it was a good idea?" Jean asked

"It's probably for the best"

Hank effortlessly picked Logan up and took him back to his room. Logan continued to sleep, restless as his memories haunted him throughout his dreams

"He'll just have to see how he goes," Hank said, closing the door behind him, "No one is to disturb him. Tell everyone"

Storm nodded and headed off to spread the news, as Logan slept on. Laura heard about this and wanted to know more about her brother and was somewhat annoyed that she couldn't ask Logan about him, so resigned herself to wait, checking up on Logan every now and again

"You hear what's up with Logan?" Bobby asked

"The Professor put him in a deep sleep and that's he's not to be disturbed. That's all I know," Rogue replied

"I wonder why he did that. You should see Laura. She's hanging around there"

"Come on, we should get to class"

"I've got a better idea. And it's a lot better than class"

"Funny that. But no"

"Okay then. I concede. Do I get a kiss at least?"

Rogue didn't reply. Instead, she leaned in and kissed Bobby. He smiled in the kiss, but then suddenly frowned. It felt like his life force was being drained, but it wasn't as painful as it usually was. However, it was still very discomforting to him and he pulled away, as Rogue looked at him in confusion, then in horror

"Oh god, I'm so sorry!" she cried

"No, it's okay. I'll be fine. Looks like your powers are back"

"I don't want them to be back. I want them gone permanently"

"I'll ask Hank and see what he can do"

"Thank you, Bobby"

_-XXXX-_

"So, what do you propose we do about Magneto and his army?" Bolivar Trask asked

"Honestly, I have no idea," the President replied

They had just finished watching a video of Magneto and his expanded Brotherhood attacking a government centre with supported anti-mutant campaigns. Although those campaigns had died down since the Alcatraz battle, it still had been targeted and destroyed by the Brotherhood. That attack was soon followed by another attack on a facility that supplied the mutant cure and finished up with a final attack on another anti-mutant campaign rally

"Mr President"

President McKenna turned around to face Nick Fury and a few agents

"Sergent Fury. What can I do for you?" McKenna asked

"At your command, I will dispatch my best agents to take Magneto down"

"Do you mean as in permanently?"

"If we must, then we will. Only if you acknowledge the command"

"Very well then, Fury, carry out as you wish. I want Magneto taken care of tonight"

"It is done"

Fury turned and left with his agents, as McKenna turned to Trask

"SHIELD might be able to do it. I hear they are quite skilled in this"

"They are humans. They could get themselves killed," Trask said, "I, on the other hand, have come up with something that could handle a mutant terrorist"

He withdrew several papers from his jacket and showed them to the President

"Would they be cost efficient? They look like they would cost a great deal"

"Mr President, with something like this, we need to look past dollars involved and work on getting the threat contained"

"How efficient would they be? Can they do it?"

"I'm sure of it. I have spent the past several months working with scientists and mechanics on this. They believe it'll work and so do I. We get started now, within a few days, we could have them up and ready to go"

"This could cause a huge impact on the mutant community"

"These babies will only hunt down those who are threatening our existence, such as Magneto and his Brotherhood. That's all"

"Very well then, Trask, start on the production. But we'll only use them if SHIELD fails"

"Of course, Mr President"

Trask headed off, checking over the plans for the Sentinel program

_-XXXX-_

Logan woke up suddenly, covered in sweat and smelt someone close to him, relaxing when he smelled Jean's scent. She grabbed a cloth and wiped the sweat away

"How are you feeling?" she asked

"Like I've got a really bad hangover"

"You remember everything?"

"Yeah, loads of things. Turns out, I'm older than the lot of you put together. And my son…I thought he died in his mother's womb. Now I know why he left me like that"

"I'm sure your son is just angry at you. Give it time, he'll come around"

"I don't know about that. I really don't know about that"

Logan then looked over at Jean who continued wiping his sweat away

"Why are you here?" he asked in confusion

"Wanted to make sure you were okay"

"Well, I'm okay now that you're here"

He smiled at her as he rested his hand upon hers. She looked down at their hands and entwined their fingers together

"You'll find your son and he will fight alongside you, not against you"

"Thanks, Jean"

"How about we go see your daughter, who kept vigil outside nearly all day"

"I've got a better idea. I'll go see her later. Why don't you stay here?"

Jean gave him a small smile

"I don't think that's a good idea right now"

She broke contact with him and got up from the bed, taking the cloth with her

"Take it easy, Logan. Go see Laura. She wants to see you"

"Okay, fine then"

Logan followed Jean out of his room and headed to Laura's, knocking on her door

"Laura, you want to see me?" he asked when she answered

"Come in. I want to know about him"

Logan knew who she was talking about and entered her room

_-XXXX-_


	10. Chapter 10

_-XXXX-_

"Professor, he's awake," Storm said

Xavier followed her down to the medical ward, where Scott was waiting, wearing a pair of ruby quartz sunglasses. He was slowly moving around, but stopped when he saw Xavier and Storm enter the ward

"Uh, hi," Scott said, "Professor, you're walking? How did-"

"We'll worry about that later, Scott. For now, how about you tell us how you managed to survive the Phoenix's attack"

"I, uh, have no idea. I just woke in a cave. Got a lift to here"

At that minute, Alex walked into the ward. The two brothers shared a look of recognition, as Scott headed over and pulled Alex into a close hug. A tear could be seen falling pass his sunglasses

"God, you're alive," Alex said

"I thought I lost you all those years ago," Scott said

"I think it's best if we leave these two together," Xavier suggested

He and Storm left the ward, as Scott drew back to Alex

"When did you get here?"

"A few days ago. I heard that you died and came straight here"

"We should get out of here and catch up somewhere less sterile"

"I'll meet you upstairs. Good to see you, bro"

"Yeah, same here, Alex"

Alex left the room, as Scott let out a sigh, before grabbing a hoodie and throwing it on, writing out his exit form, then heading upstairs to meet his brother, passing Logan on the way, who turned back to him in surprise

"Scott, nice to see you're up and about"

"Logan. How's things?"

"Eh, can't complain. Got a daughter to socialise and a son who wants to kill me"

"Sounds like fun times ahead"

Scott continued on, finding his brother outside and joined him on the bench

"So, I guess it's time we talked," Alex said after a few minutes silence

_-XXXX-_

"You seem troubled, love. There a problem?"

Rogue turned around to face Gambit, who was leaning against the staircase with his arms folded against his chest, a small smile on his face. Rogue folded her arms

"Nothing that concerns you"

"Ah, no need to be like that, Rogue. You have a problem, you talk about it"

"How do you know my name? I never told you"

"I find these things out. Part of what I do"

"Uh-huh. Well I don't have an interest in knowing what you do and therefore, I'm gonna go have a training session with Logan"

"The Wolverine. Sounds like fun. Come, I'll join you on this"

"No, it's just me and him. It's a little thing we have"

"You and the Wolverine are together?" Gambit asked with a slight frown

"No, I'm already with someone else. But Logan and I, well, I'm not telling you"

"Come now, Rogue, we are all friends here"

"I'm not your friend"

"You wound me with such hurtful wounds," Gambit chuckled, "I'm sure Wolverine won't mind if I accompany you"

"I don't need accompanying"

"Then I shall tag along and view this training session. Maybe I can spar Wolverine"

A small smile appeared on Rogue's face, as Gambit frowned at that

"You'll end up regretting it," she said

_-XXXX-_

"Morales, Hills, how is it going?" Nick Fury asked

"Things are going well, sir," Agent Morales replied, "We're closing in"

Fury and his SHIELD agents had been able to track Magneto down to a small building in Manhattan and were now closing in on him, hoping to catch him by surprise and take him down. Fury was watching via Morale's camera, as she led a small team from the front, while Agent Hill and her team was surrounding the back of the building. Once everyone was in position, SHIELD moved in silently. Fury was filled with tension as he watched his agents storm the building. There were no mutants in sight, as the agents moved higher through the well-lit building. They reached the top floor, converging outside the only room they hadn't checked yet, knowing Magneto was behind the door

"On three," Morales said, "One, two, three"

She kicked the door open as the agents stormed the room. However, they were all surprised to see that Magneto or his Brotherhood wasn't anywhere in sight

"Where did they go?" Hill asked, "They were here a few minutes ago. Sir?"

"Satellite did confirm that they were there," Fury said, "They must have left through a back door or something"

"We would have known," Hill continued, "We have agents…come in, Forrest"

Forrest was one of the agents posted outside the building in case the Brotherhood made a backwards exit and there was nothing coming back over the radio

"Dammit, I think they've pulled one over us," Morales said

"Spread out and search the surrounding area," Fury ordered

"On it, sir – LOOK OUT!"

An agent was hoisted up into the air by five long silver claws, while another agent scored two carbonadium tentacles through his chest. His life force was drained through the tentacles, as the owner of the tentacles, wearing red armour, used them as whips, taking down more agents. Morales was shouting out orders, as something moving faster than lightning took the gun from her hands and took her down. Fury watched helplessly as Lady Deathstrike and Omega Red slaughtered his agents

"Any remaining agents, get the hell out of there NOW!" Fury shouted

"Trying to – ARGH!" Hill cried

Omega Red had infected her with his Death Spores and she was dead within seconds. With all the agents dead, Magneto entered the room and knelt before a camera

"Really, Sergeant Fury, you should have known better"

He then used his powers to destroy the camera as Fury slumped in his chair, defeated

_-XXXX-_

"You're doing good, kid, keep at it"

Gambit leaned against the wall, his arms crossed as he watched Rogue spar with Logan. He was quite enjoying checking out Rogue's form, impressed with how she was able to hold her own against Logan. As they sparred, Gambit could see the bond that they had, but wasn't worried about that at all. He wasn't scared of the Wolverine. If he wanted something, he got it, though he knew it would be a difficult and interesting chase for Rogue. First off, he had to get past her boyfriend, Bobby

"Logan?"

Speak of the devil

"What's up, Iceman?" Logan asked, stopping his sparring

"We're here for our training lesson," Bobby replied

Peter, Kitty and Laura all joined him in the Danger Room

"Alright then, let's do a little session. Hey, Cajun, you in on this or you gonna watch Rogue all day?"

Gambit jumped, a little embarrassed, as Bobby shot him an angry thought, his fist becoming frozen in ice. Gambit ignored him as he sauntered over. He didn't think that Logan had been watching him, but he was quite mistaken

"Of course, I'll join in. so, what kinda training are we doing?"

Logan chuckled

"Hey Frost, put the days of future past stimulation on"

The entire room completely changed, becoming an apocalyptic world. Logan grinned when he watched Gambit take in his new sudden surroundings

"Welcome to the end of the world," Logan said, _"Let's see how Cajun handles this"_

_-XXXX-_


	11. Chapter 11

_-XXXX-_

"How did Fury and his agents go?" Trask asked

"It was a failure. It became a slaughterhouse," President McKenna replied, "Magneto was one step ahead of him. How are things going here?"

"We've nearly finished completion on several Mark I Sentinels. By the end of tomorrow, the Sentinels will be ready to hunt Magneto down"

"Good. That's what I like to hear. I don't any more innocent people hurt because of Magneto," said McKenna, "I'll leave you to it"

"Thank you, sir"

_-XXXX-_

Jean answered the knock at the door, surprised to see Nick Fury before her

"Sergeant Fury, what can I do for you?"

"I need to see Professor Xavier please, Miss Grey"

"This way then. Is something wrong?"

"Yes, definitely. Where's the Professor?"

"In his office. You know how to get there, don't you?"

"Thank you, Miss Grey"

Jean watched as Fury headed off towards the professor's office

"Don't tell me that Fury is here for Laura again," Logan said from behind her, "Otherwise, I'm gonna do something I'll regret"

"No, I think it's a lot bigger than Laura. I could sense a lot of distress in his head. Couldn't make out much, but it's bad"

"Sounds like fun. I'm itching"

Jean rolled her eyes, as Logan shared a smile with her

"Come on, let's see what Mister Commando has to say"

The pair arrived at the professor's office, just as Fury was explaining his predicament

"He slaughtered all my men," Fury cried, "I need your help on this, Xavier"

"And you have my help," Xavier said calmly, "Just slow down and tell me what exactly is going on"

"What's the hubbub, bub?" Logan asked

"Magneto and his Brotherhood," Fury replied, "We tracked him down to a small base of operations and tried to take him by surprise. However, he knew beforehand and wiped out my entire team. He has powerful allies"

Fury handed Xavier a few grainy snapshots he was able to take, including one of Lady Deathstrike and another of Omega Red, as Logan and Jean took a closer look

"There was a third mutant there," Fury said, "Moves so fast, it was unbelievable"

"Where did this take place?" Xavier asked

"Manhattan"

"Well, if we can get there in time, we might be able to stop him. Jean, Logan, get the X-Men together and head out to Manhattan"

"Yeah, you got it," Logan said

The pair left the room and began gathering all the X-Men. Logan decided to bring Gambit along to give him a taste of the battle that was coming. Scott had recovered well enough to go along, as well as Alex. Storm and Jean both agreed on bringing Emma Frost with them, thinking that a second telepath would be helpful

"You actually go out in these things?" Alex asked, holding his new uniform up

"What would you prefer? Yellow spandex?" Logan replied, zipping his suit up

"Don't know about you guys, but I feel kinda sexy in this," Emma grinned

"This looks like it could chafe," Gambit said, "In all the wrong places"

"Stop whining and just put it on," Rogue chastised, "We don't have time"

"Anything for the pretty lady"

"Don't go pushing your luck," Logan warned him, "Laura, you ready?"

"Yeah, I'm ready. Can we go already? I'm itching for a fight"

"Oh yeah, she's definitely yours," Storm smirked

Jean had opted to wear the Phoenix's previous outfit consisting of a red bustier over a red coat, shirt and pants with knee-high buckled boots. Once they were ready, the X-Men headed for their jet, surprised to see that Warren Worthington was waiting for them, already dressed in the black leather uniform

"How long have you been there?" Scott asked

"I only just got here. I was nearby when the Professor called for me. I quickly changed and flew straight here"

"Let's see how you can handle this action," Logan said, "You haven't been around for the last few months"

"Business does call and it's hard to ignore," Warren said, "Shall we then?"

"Alright, let's get going," Scott said

The entire X-Men team climbed aboard the X-Jet, as Scott and Storm flew the jet out of the basketball court and off into the sky towards Manhattan

_-XXXX-_

Trask was overseeing the completion of the Sentinels. So far, everything was going to plan. He had a small force of Sentinels built and ready for action. He had somewhat lied to the President about the Sentinels' programming. They were programmed to hunt down any mutant and eliminate them, not just Magneto and the Brotherhood. Trask figured that this was the final solution to the mutant problem. He believed that mutants could never completely co-exist with humans. There would always a mutant seeking to destroy the world. Trask rationalised that this was the only way to end the threat once and for all. However, with the completion of the Sentinels, he wasn't quite finished yet. He was working on a similar project. If the Sentinels were to ever fail, then he knew that this project would guarantee the elimination of mutants. Trask checked the schematics of the project, making sure it was working out. The title of the form read 'PROJECT MUTANT ELIMINATOR: BASTION'

_-XXXX-_

"Okay, we're nearing Manhattan and Magneto's last known location," Scott said, "I'm gonna land her nearby"

Magneto's base had been near the coast, as Scott landed the X-Jet on the calm water, close enough to land so they could disembark from the jet. Once everyone was onshore, the X-Men headed towards the building, being cautious after hearing what had happened to Fury's agents

"I'll take to the air, give you some cover," Warren said

He spread his wings and flew into the air, hovering high over the building

"Looks like the Brotherhood didn't clean up their mess," Logan commented

There was bodies surrounding the building, blood splattered all over the ground

"Okay, let's do this," Cyclops said, "We'll split in two. Alex, Storm, Emma, Peter and Kitty, you're with me. Everyone else with Jean. We'll go in first"

"Let's kick some ass," X23 said

Cyclops' team entered the building from the front, while Jean's team waited a few minutes, before entering through the back door. Wolverine and X23 were out in front, using their senses to locate the Brotherhood

"Yeah, they're here," Wolverine said, "Top floor and unsuspicious"

"That's what we need," Jean said, "Let's go everyone"

Cyclops' team reached the top floor first and waited for Jean's team to join them. Wolverine shook his head, able to smell the blood on the other side of the door. Cyclops stood before the door, raising a hand to his visor. However, before he could fire a blast, an earthquake rumbled out, disorientating everyone

"Party time!" came Juggernaut's voice

He came crashing through the floor, sending everyone flying. Cyclops went through the door and into the slaughterhouse, as Toad threw him across the room. Cyclops struck the wall and fired a blast at Toad, who leapt out of the way with nimble agility. Wolverine and X23 got to their feet, unsheathing their claws, as Omega Red appeared and sent them flying with his tentacles. Jean struck him with a telekinetic blast, smashing him through one of the walls. Iceman fired a beam of ice at Pyro, as Sabretooth grabbed the young mutant and slammed him against the floor, dizzying him. Withdrawing and extending his metallic staff, Gambit struck Sabretooth in the back, only to get smashed through a wall by a backhand

"Ooh, that's gonna sting in the morning," Gambit groaned to himself

Encasing his body in metal, Colossus took on Juggernaut, disappearing through the floors below, as Shadowcat dodged a slashing attempt by Deathstrike

"Isn't it nice when we have these interesting meetings of ours?" Magneto said, making an appearance with Mystique by his side

"You're gonna die," Cyclops growled, firing a laser beam

"Hardly," Magneto replied, dodging the blast

_-XXXX-_


	12. Chapter 12

_-XXXX-_

An opening in the ceiling, thanks to Havoc, allowed Storm to summon and strike the new mutant Blob with a lightning bolt. He stumbled, chuckling a little and advanced on Storm. Quicksilver danced around Rogue, striking her with swift and light attacks, but they were slowly getting the better of her. Gambit charged up a few cards with kinetic energy and launched them at Pyro, blasting him into another room

"I really hate that move," Pyro growled, getting up and launching a fireball

Wolverine slashed at Sabretooth, who ducked and punched him in the gut, before throwing him out onto the rooftop and following after him, reminiscence of their last battle atop the Statue of Liberty. Both mutants growled, before lunging at each other. Toad was battling against Shadowcat, while Mystique was taking on Phoenix and Cyclops was fighting Avalanche, countering his attacks with skill and ease. X23 was having trouble fighting Deathstrike, who seemed to block and parry each move she made, continuously drawing her blood. It was starting to irritate X23, as she slashed, only to be stabbed in the torso and thrown across the room. Slamming against the wall, X23 got to her feet, letting out a small angry growl, before lunging

Meanwhile, Colossus and Juggernaut were causing massive amounts of damage on the bottom floor, tearing down the walls as they fought against each other furiously. Havoc fired twin energy blasts at Omega Red, who was blasted through into a room, before using his tentacles to strike Havoc down and slam him against the ceiling. Cyclops scored a direct hit to Avalanche's chest with a close-range laser blast, knocking him out, then turning his attention to Quicksilver, missing him with a laser and taking out a huge chunk of the wall

"Try again, One-Eye," Quicksilver grinned

Emma narrowly dodged a fireball from Pyro and tried to assault his mind with her telepathy, but to no avail. She growled in frustration at the fact that she would have to get in close to attack him, as Wolverine came crashing back into the room, Sabretooth soon following after him. Phoenix blasted Mystique with telekinesis, as Magneto caught Wolverine with his powers and threw him at Phoenix, taking them down

"You will not stand in my way of destroying humanity," Magneto said

He had to duck suddenly when three playing cards charged with energy flew at him. Magneto glared at Gambit and used his powers to take the staff and strike him multiple times with it. Meanwhile, Blob was dropped through the floor with help from a powerful gust of wind conjured up by Storm

"You know, this whole thing started with you and it'll end with you," Wolverine growled

He lunged at Magneto and slashed at his face. Magneto ducked, but then Wolverine whirled around and ripped his claws through Magneto's stomach. Magneto groaned in pain, blood trickling down his clothes. Wolverine went to strike again, but rage flashed through Magneto's eyes and he held out his hand. Wolverine seized up as he was lifted into the air. Suddenly, intense pain ripped through Wolverine and he roared in agony, as the adamantinum was slowly stripped from his bones and torn out through his body. Magneto violently tore the indestructible metal from his skeleton, causing immense agony in Wolverine, as his healing factor burned out trying to repair the wounds. Phoenix blasted Mystique aside and used her telekinesis to hold Wolverine's body together. Numerous lacerations covered his body, as Magneto used the stripped adamantinum to strike down Gambit, Cyclops and Havoc

"Magneto!"

He whirled around, as Angel came crashing through the window and flew at him, striking him down. Landing, Angel whirled around to strike again, but he had forgotten that Pyro was behind him. The mutant grinned and launched a stream of flames that incinerated Angel's wings. Angel fell to his knees crying out in pain, his wings were burned away to stumps

"We have to get out of here," Emma said, "We have to retreat"

"I don't think so," Magneto said

Suddenly, he seized up, his helmet cracking and splitting apart. Magneto's face contorted into agony, as he finally fell over, unconscious. The Brotherhood noticed this, as Quicksilver picked his father's body up and left. The rest of the Brotherhood quickly retreated, as the X-Men slowly picked themselves up. Wolverine and Angel had fallen into unconsciousness, Jean using hold the former together with telekinesis. Rogue and Shadowcat both sported bruises from their fights, while X23 was torn up and bloody. Half her clothes were hanging off her, as her large injuries slowly healed

"Will he be okay?" she asked, looking at Wolverine

"Only time will tell," Jean replied, "Let's get them to the jet"

The X-Men picked up their fallen comrades and hurried back to the jet, before flying back to the mansion as quick as they could

_-XXXX-_

Xavier sighed and rubbed his brow. He couldn't believe what he had just done. He had mentally watching the entire battle, watching as Magneto violently tore the adamantinum from Wolverine's skeleton. Enraged at what his old friend had done, Xavier launched a powerful mental assault upon him, breaking his helmet and wiping his mind clean, placing Magneto into a coma

"How is he doing?" Xavier asked without turning around

"He'll be fine. They'll both be fine," Scott replied, "But we can only wait to see what happens when they wake up. It won't be pleasant"

"No, I imagine it won't be. How is everyone else?"

"A little depressed. Okay, I lie, seriously depressed. Jean, Rogue and Laura are all hanging around Logan's bed. Emma managed to calm Laura down mentally, seeing as she was about to go berserk on us"

"For the best," Xavier said, "The Brotherhood won't show up for a while, so we have a chance to breath finally"

"Yeah, something happened to Magneto. He just…fell unconscious"

Xavier sighed and faced Scott

"That was me. I wiped his mind clean, putting him into a coma"

"Professor? You…did that? But…why?"

"I was so furious at what he did. I couldn't believe it and let my anger take over"

"Well, at least the Brotherhood is out of action"

_-XXXX-_

"How is he?" Wanda asked

"He's in a coma," Mystique replied, "It was a mental attack"

"We took out two of their guys and someone takes out our leader," Blob said, "So, when will he wake up?"

"Only time will tell. I'm guessing a lot of time. Until then, I am your new leader"

"Wait a second," Pyro said, "You? I was leader before he came back, so it's only right that I become leader again now that he's gone"

"I have been his second-in-command longer than you were leader," Mystique argued, "If you don't like it, you can always leave"

"I'm cool," Pyro surrendered after a few minutes

"I don't mind," Sabretooth said, "As long as we get to smash some skulls"

"Magneto is not to be disturbed. Now come, we have much to do. Hopefully, when he wakes up, the world will belong to the mutants"

_-XXXX-_

"You two should get some rest," Jean suggested softly

"No, I want to stay here," Laura said, "I want to make sure he's okay"

"He'll be fine. Seriously, you need the rest. Go to bed"

"Okay then. Let me know the minute he wakes up," Rogue said

She headed upstairs, as Jean turned to Laura with a pointed look on her face. Laura stared back at her, not wanting to give in, but Jean's telepathy was not making it easier for her. In the end, she gave in and headed upstairs, as Jean sat down on the side of Logan's bed. She looked over at Warren, who had his chest and back strapped. His wings had to be amputated, they were that badly damaged

"Hope you wake up soon, the both of you," Jean said softly to Logan, running a faint finger over his coarse cheek, "We're gonna need you for this"

She then leaned down and pressed her soft lips to Logan's, not knowing that Scott was standing in the doorway behind her, watching her kiss the comatose mutant

_-XXXX-_


	13. Chapter 13

_-XXXX-_

"They are ready?" President McKenna asked

He was with Trask, standing before the behemoth robots, awe on his face

"Ready for your command, Mr President," Trask replied, "They will track and capture Magneto with greater efficiency than any SHIELD agent"

"Alright then, let's activate them," McKenna said

Trask took out a small remote control and pressed a button. The eyes of twelve Sentinels lit up and began moving around, as McKenna and Trask stepped back

"Find and destroy all mutants," one of the Sentinels said

"'Destroy all mutants'?" McKenna said, "I don't want to destroy all mutants"

"Must be a glitch or something. Don't worry, their primary target is Magneto"

A large hatch appeared in the ceiling, opening up wide, as one by one, the Sentinels flew through with aid from the jet thrusters in their boots

"With any luck, we'll have Magneto taken care of by tonight," Trask said

"Let's hope it's just Magneto," McKenna said

_-XXXX-_

"Sir, you should take a look at this," a SHIELD agent said

Nick Fury joined the agent at the radar, seeing twelve large blips on the screen, all in a V formation and moving at a steady rate

"What are they?" Fury asked

"No idea, sir, we've scanned them and they're unidentifiable"

"Get me Tony Stark. He might know something about this"

"On it, sir"

The agent grabbed a phone and started calling Tony Stark, as Fury continued watching the radar, trying to figure out what these new bogeys were

_-XXXX-_

Logan woke up to the agonised cries of Warren. He sat up and looked over at his teammate, who was crying at the sight of his back. Logan was horrified to see that Warren no longer had any wings, as they had been amputated. Then he remembered what had happened to him. Logan looked down at his body, then at his left hand, before clenching his fist. Three bone claws shot out of his hand, catching him by surprise. He retracted his claws and got out of bed, heading over to Warren

"What happened to you?"

"I don't know," Warren replied, "I attacked Magneto after you passed out and then I felt this unbearable, burning sensation in my wings. I wake up to find them gone"

Logan was about to say more, but in that moment, both Rogue and Laura entered the medical ward. Rogue pulled Logan into a hug, as he held her close. A tear ran down her face, as she let him go and stepped back

"You're awake. And so are you, Warren. How are you feeling?"

"What do you think?" Warren asked bitterly, "I'm outta here"

He stormed out of the medical ward before anyone could say anything

"Yeah, he's pissed," Laura said, before turning to Logan, "Good to see you're awake"

"So, do I get a hug or not?" Logan asked

Laura gave him a brief smile and put her arms around him, as he hugged her back

"And let's go and see everyone else"

_-XXXX-_

"Scott, is everything okay?" Jean asked

"Everything's just peachy," he replied bitterly

"It's not, I can tell, but I don't know what it is"

"Can't you read my mind?"

"No, I can't. The Professor put those psychic blocks in, remember?"

"Why him?" Scott asked without facing Jean, "Why him?"

"Logan?"

"No, I mean the Cajun. Of course I mean Logan"

"You saw that?" Jean asked slowly

"It was freaking hard to miss. I thought we were to be together forever"

"Not all stories have a happy ever after"

"You love him, don't you?" Scott asked

Jean couldn't see his eyes, but she could feel the emotion rolling off him

"I care about him"

"You didn't answer my question"

At that moment, an energy blast slammed into the school, tearing a huge chunk out of the building. Jean and Scott turned their eyes upwards, seeing three massive robots hovering in the air. The robots were about three storeys high, with red heads, forearms and boots and a purple torso. They landed on the ground and headed towards the school, as one of the Sentinels looked down at Jean and Scott

"Mutants detected. Destroy all mutants," the Sentinel said

It faced the pair, as Scott raised his sunglasses and unleashed a powerful energy blast. The Sentinel stumbled, recovering from the attack and held out its hands, as tentacles similar to Omega Red's shot out of its palms and towards the two mutants. Jean deflected them with telekinesis, as Scott fired another optical blast

_-XXXX-_

"Any ideas what they could be?" Nick Fury asked

"No idea," Tony Stark replied, "I sure as hell haven't been building robots"

"Well, we've got a report of several of these things tearing up part of Manhattan, as well as a few robots attacking Xavier's Institute"

"Isn't that a school?"

"For mutants, yes. Now I suggest you go over there and find out what they are"

"Do I look like a drone that you can order around?" Stark asked

Fury gave him a glare with his one eye, but Stark didn't back down

"Fine then. Do what you please"

"Finding out what these things are. I'll be in contact soon"

Fury turned back to the screen as Stark took his leave

_-XXXX-_

"What the hell is going on here?" Logan called

"We're under attack, but I don't know what from," Bobby replied

The two mutants raced outside, finding Jean and Scott standing over the wreckage of one Sentinel, while the other two Sentinels were busy destroying the school. However, the students were retaliating, using their powers against the Sentinels, but it seemed to be no use against the behemoth robots. Logan unsheathed his claws, as Jean saw him, her eyes widening

"You're awake," she cried, "And you have bone claws?"

"Yeah I do. Now, we're gonna stop these things, alright"

"For once, I agree with you, Logan," Scott said

The pair raced towards the nearest Sentinel. Scott unleashed an energy blast, as two more energy blasts attacked the same Sentinel, thanks to Alex. The Sentinel captured Alex with a tentacle, as Bobby struck with an ice beam, freezing the tentacle. Alex shattered the tentacle and rolled onto his feet when he landed. The second Sentinel fired an energy blast at the five mutants, taking Logan down. Cards appeared in the first Sentinel's chest and exploded, as Laura leapt through the air, her claws extended. She hacked furiously at the Sentinel's neck, beheading the robot, as the second Sentinel turned towards her. However, twin energy blasts struck the robot from the sky, as Iron Man flew down and fired several small rockets. This, combined with Scott's, Alex's and Bobby's powers, destroyed the Sentinel, as Iron Man landed

"Tony Stark. It's been a while," Scott said

"What's going on here?" Stark asked, opening up his helmet

"No-"

"Oh my god, Logan!" Jean cried

She fell to his side. The energy blast had stripped away most of his skin, exposing his bones, while two of his claws had been broken. However, as they watched, his wounds closed up and instantly healed, while his claws grew back and retracted. Logan opened his eyes and sat up, as Jean supported him

"So, we did it?" he asked

_-XXXX-_


	14. Chapter 14

_-XXXX-_

"Why are you leaving?" Jean asked

"Cause I'm no good here," Logan replied, packing his bags

"I don't understand"

"I can't fight here. You saw what happened earlier. If that blast was bigger or if I was any closer, I wouldn't be here talking to you"

"But that doesn't call for you to leave"

"My choice. I'm leaving, Jean, so don't stop me. There's no argument to it"

"I – We need you here"'

"Sorry, but I can't be here. I'm a liability"

He left his room, slinging his bag onto his back and passing Laura in the hallway

"You leaving, aren't you?" she asked

"Yeah, I am, kiddo. I can't be here"

"I want to come with you"

"No. Your place is here with the others"

"Will you be coming back?"

Logan didn't answer. Instead, he removed his dog tags and placed them in Laura's hands. This was a new set of dog tags he had bought for himself, as his old set were buried under Alkali Lake. Laura stared at the necklace, as Logan smiled at her and moved on with Jean closely behind him. Laura waited until he left before putting the dog tags on and looking over her should as he walked away

"Logan, please think about this," Jean continued

"I already have, Jean. Please, no more. It's hard enough for me as it is"

He entered the garage, where Scott was currently finishing up with the motorcycle

"So, you're really leaving, huh?" Scott said, "Well, she's all ready to go"

"Thanks, Scott"

Logan got on the bike and started it up, as the garage door opened. He cast Jean a quick look, before roaring out of the garage

"Ah, he'll be back," Scott said, "Give it time"

Jean didn't answer as she stared out of the garage in Logan's direction. Scott noticed this and let out a small sigh, before heading inside where he came across Emma

"You seem tense," she said, "Can I help?"

"No," he answered shortly before walking past her

"Scott," came Xavier's voice, "Care to join me in my office"

"Okay, professor"

Scott followed the professor to his office, where Tony Stark was also waiting

"First off, we must get to the bottom of this attack," Xavier said, "Has Logan left?"

"Yeah, he just took off"

"Warren has also left. He was so distraught about his wings"

"How do you know? When did he leave?"

"It isn't hard to tell. He slipped out earlier, just before those robots attack"

"I've got my company looking into it," Stark said, "We'll get to the bottom of this"

"I know they hunt mutants," Scott said, "One of them said to kill mutants"

"Well, this can't be good for any of us. The Brotherhood finds out about this, there will be serious repercussions"

"There was a group of them attacking Manhattan," Stark said, "I sent out the Avengers to deal with them and they were taken care of"

"We have to find out where they came from," Xavier said

"Well, they just came out of nowhere. Caught Fury by surprise"

_-XXXX-_

"Your Sentinels are out of control," President McKenna said

"I programmed them to hunt down Magneto," Trask said with a shrug

"Did that include destroying part of Manhattan in searching for him"

"Mr President, not to be rude, but you did give clearance for this project"

"And now I'm regretting it. I want you to shut down the Sentinel program"

"Very well then, sir"

Trask pulled out his remote control and pressed the button. Any Sentinel that had been activated was suddenly deactivated, falling limp in their actions

"All better now," Trask said

"Now we have to clean up the mess you made," McKenna said, "First off, by having you fired"

"Excuse me, Mr President"

"You have put innocent lives at risk. You are removed from the office as of now"

"As you wish, Mr President"

Trask turned and left the office. But as he did, he slyly reactivated the Sentinels. But the Sentinels weren't the only things activated. The eyes of the completed Bastion flashed, signalling his activation

_-XXXX-_

Logan came to a stop in the Canadian wilderness. He had riding non-stop for the last couple of days, using the motorcycle's enhanced speed to reach the border quicker than normal. Taking a quick break, he took in his surroundings, seeing that he was pretty much alone in the snowy lands

"Okay, time to try something out"

Popping out one claw, Logan cut a line on his inner left arm. As soon as he made the cut, the wound close over and healed. He was surprised at that. The wound had healed at a much faster rate than if he had adamantinum bonded to his bones. So he theorised that without the metal, his healing factor was very powerful compared to when he had the metal. Logan turned back to his bike, but stopped and sniffed the air

Someone suddenly burst out of the trees to his right, taking him down. Logan rolled onto his feet and extracted his claws, as Daken did the same thing. Logan straightened and sheathed his claws as he looked at his son

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Daken said

"Why are you here, son? And why are you trying to kill me?"

"I've been following you since you left Xavier's Institute"

"Doesn't explain why you're trying to kill me"

Daken growled and lunged, but Logan dodged him, as he whirled around

"It's all your fault," Daken growled, "It's all your fault"

"Explain to me why it's my fault"

Daken lunged again, ripping three cuts in Logan's chest. The elder mutant responded instinctively with a right hook to the jaw, forcing Daken to stumble back

"I don't want to fight you, Daken," Logan said

Daken slashed again, but Logan blocked and punched him again

"Doesn't mean I won't"

Logan extracted his claws, blocking Daken's blow and slashing him across the face. Daken whirled around, kicking Logan in the stomach, his injuries instantly healed. Recovering, Logan dodged Daken's kick, but wasn't prepared for the backwards elbow strike. Stumbling back, Logan just managed to deflect Daken's next strike, slashing him across the chest. Daken slashed him back, followed by a stab to the ribs. Logan gritted his teeth in pain and kneed Daken in the stomach, followed by a backhand that slashed his face. Daken stumbled back, as Logan lunged, taking him down. Daken kicked him over his head and flipped onto his feet, as Logan did the same, whirling around as the pair began to circle each other

"There is no need for this," Logan said, "We can find another way"

Snow started to fall lightly upon the two fighters

"I don't think there is another way," Daken said

"Sure there is. Professor Xavier can help you"

"I don't need any help. I just need to kill you"

Daken charged at his father and slashed furiously, as Logan dodged or blocked his blows, infuriating Daken because he wasn't fighting back. Logan kept on the defensive, trying to wear Daken down, but his son was still fighting as furious as ever. Logan growled as new injuries were added to his body; however, they quickly healed as he struck back at his son, sinking his claws into his stomach, then sinking his other claws into Daken's chest. Daken groaned and slacked against his claws, as Logan quickly removed them and caught his son as he fell

"I'm sorry, so sorry," Logan said

"Yeah, you should be"

The next thing Logan knew, he was on his knees, clutching his throat as blood spilled past his hand, turning the snow crimson. Daken stood over him, blood dripping from his claws, as he kicked Logan onto his back and stood over him, raising his fist

"And now for the _coupe de grace_"

_-XXXX-_


	15. Chapter 15

_-XXXX-_

"Have you seen what was out there?" Pyro asked, "Freaking giant robots!"

"Yeah and they're after us," Pietro said, "One of them chased me, but I quickly lost him. It kept saying 'destroy all mutants'"

"Sounds like something the government cooked up. That would be typical of them. Does Mystique know about them?"

"I already do," Mystique said, "I saw them as well, tearing up Manhattan"

"What do you think?" Pyro asked, "Government"

"Would have to be. They came up with the cure, surely they could do this"

"Sounds like they want to see us exterminated"

"And that doesn't surprise me. Well, I'll tell you what we're gonna do. We're going to strike back at them. This is genocide, what they're doing. We'll destroy them all"

_-XXXX-_

Logan raised his arm to block Daken's blow, but ended up with three deeps cuts in his flesh, as Daken followed up with a kick to his chest. Logan coughed, spitting up blood. His throat wound was nearly healed, but the loss of blood from the injury had taken a lot out of him and he was fighting a losing battle, as Daken kept up the assault, inflicting more damaging injuries by the minute. Finally, Logan fell back in the snow, which was stained heavily with his blood, as Daken stood over him, breathing heavily, his claws soaked in his father's blood

"Okay…you know…I think we're…way past…talking," Logan groaned

"No, you're right there," Daken said, "Time to end this"

"Sorry you turned out like this, son"

"Well, I wonder why that happened"

Daken raised his fist to strike, but was suddenly knocked unconscious. Logan saw a blur of dark blue before he too was knocked unconscious, joining his son

_-XXXX-_

"I wonder why we're even bothering with repairing the school," Scott said, "It's gonna get damaged again sometime soon"

"Tony Stark's technology will make sure that won't happen," Emma replied

"Well, at least we've got Hank checking out those robot remains so we can find out where they came from"

"I'm guessing Magneto built them, before he went all comatose"

"No, it doesn't seem like Magneto do something like this. On the other hand, you could be right"

Scott sighed, watching as Stark's company repaired the damage done to the school by the Sentinels. Emma was beside him, wearing a white corset over white pants and boots with white gloves and a small cape that was attached to her gloves. Scott found himself checking out her fine form and kept silently chastising himself for it, not knowing that Emma was enjoying the effect she was slowly having on him. She wanted him and loved the chase he was unwittingly giving her. She knew it would only be a matter of time before Scott was hers

"I'm gonna see if Hank's got anything," Scott said

"I'll come with. This building watching, not my thing"

Scott and Emma headed into the mansion, going to the professor's office where they found Hank giving Xavier a rundown of his findings

"I hate to say this, professor, but these robots seemed to be government-made," Hank said, "They are called Sentinels and were ordered by Bolivar Trask"

"How do you know that?" Xavier asked

"The computer chips are all signs government and Trask's signature has been engraved on the inside of the chest plate"

"So the government is trying to wipe us out?" Emma asked

"Not like that's not the first time," Scott added sarcastically

"In any case, we must be prepared for another attack," Xavier said

_-XXXX-_

Rogue was out in the garden, sitting on one of the park benches and staring at the sky. She was so lost in thought she didn't notice Gambit sitting next to her until he spoke

"What seems to be the problem, love?"

"Huh what? No problem, none at all"

"Can't lie to me. I know everything"

"Yeah, I'm sure you do"

"Cause I do"

"Where's Logan then?"

"Somewhere that's not here," Gambit replied with a cocky grin

Rogue gave him a small smile, but didn't reply, as Gambit looked around

"Where's your partner?"

"I'm avoiding him"

"Why? He cares about you so much, it's kinda sickening. That said"

"I can't touch him. We used to, but now we can't and…I think it's causing the same sort of problems as it was before"

"Ah yes, I think I heard about this. But Frosthead is looking to get you the cure again. Why avoid him?"

"It's complicated, Gambit. I don't think you would understand"

"I know of all things in regards to love. I'm quite an experienced man in that field"

"Yeah, I'm sure you are. I'm talking about a different kind of love to you"

"No, I know which love you are speaking of. When I said field, I mean all sections of the field"

"Riveting. But I'm sorry to say, this doesn't really concern you"

"You've told me this much so far. Allow me to help you out with Popsicle Boy"

Rogue was about to respond when an earthquake suddenly rumbled out

"Oh, that can't be good," Gambit said

There came a sudden loud crash, as the front gates were smashed off their hinges. Juggernaut came pounding into the schoolyards, closely followed by Pyro, who let off several jets of flames into the air, as Sabretooth and Omega Red walked in after him. They stepped aside when Mystique strode before them

"Take them all," she ordered

"Yep, definitely not good," Gambit said, reaching into his coat

He withdrew a few playing cards, charging them up with kinetic energy and throwing them. Sabretooth growled in anger when the cards exploded upon him and he charged at the pair. Avalanche, Blob and Toad soon arrived and entered the school with Omega Red. An angry red laser blasted the three mutants back out of the school, as Scott stepped outside and raised his sunglasses. Pyro countered with a fireball, setting off a small explosion, as Gambit dodged Sabretooth's swipe and pushed Rogue aside, before extending his metal staff and striking the large mutant with it

"Best get the others, love, we're gonna need them," he said

He was thrown into a large garden hedge, as Sabretooth turned to Rogue with a grin. However, he was stopped by a telekinetic blast from Jean. Bobby, Kitty, Laura and Peter soon joined in, as Omega Red lashed his tentacles at them. Laura sliced at them, as Peter assumed his metallic form and punched Blob in the stomach. The overweight mutant chuckled, sucking his gut in, then forcing it back out, shooting Peter through the school wall like a bullet. Sabretooth engaged Gambit in battle again, as Mystique took on Scott in hand-to-hand combat

Toad took down Bobby and Kitty with ease, as the former froze his legs to the ground. Toad frowned and spat a wad of mucus onto Bobby's face. Pyro sent forth a wave of fire, which was repelled by Jean's telekinesis. She forced it back at him, her own eyes turning fiery red, blasting him across the front yard

"What is the meaning of all this?" Xavier asked, coming outside with Hank and Emma

"You! It was you!" Mystique cried

She kicked Scott in the groin and knocked him down, before leaping at Xavier, only to be frozen in the air by Emma's telepathy. She lowered the blue mutant down and unfroze her mind

"Magneto. That's why you're here," Xavier said

"I'm gonna kill you for what you did to him"

"How about we save that for another day," Scott groaned, "We have company"

Three Sentinels stood outside the mansion fence, while a man stood before them. He had sleek white hair and a small goatee and was wearing a primarily black costume with a dark pink collar. But his eyes didn't seem like normal human eyes. They looked like the eyes of a robot

"There are the mutants," Bastion said, "Destroy them"

_-XXXX-_


	16. Chapter 16

_-XXXX-_

Logan groggily opened his eyes. He tried to move but found that he had been strapped down to a steel table. Looking around, he could see Warren to his left, strapped down and unconscious, as well as Daken to his right, also unconscious and strapped down

"Ah, you're awake"  
Logan looked around and saw a tall pale man standing before him. The man was decked in a black, caped costume and had deep red eyes, as well as a small red jewel on his forehead. Logan also noted that the man had a somewhat sinister smile. There was also another mutant, standing in the back corner, decked out in combat gear, his face covered by his mask, which also contained night-vision goggles

"I remember you," Logan growled, "You're the one who killed her!"

"Yeah, sorry about that," Winter Soldier replied, sounding not at all sorry, "Had to draw you out"

"You're the reason Daken is the way he is!"

"Not exactly," Mr Sinister replied, "I kinda helped along the way"

"When I get out of here, I'm gonna kill you both!"

"Hmm, best of luck with that. Now then, shall we begin?"

It was then that Logan noticed a tub nearby with a series of syringes surrounding it. There was something bubbling inside the tub, as Mr Sinister brought it over, revealing the liquid adamantinum boiling away inside

"You're gonna bond it to me, aren't you?" Logan asked, "Why?"

"For my own purposes," Mr Sinister replied, "Hold tight. It's a very delicate process"

He grabbed a syringe and drew it close to Logan's arm. Just as the needle pierced his skin, Logan growled and broke one of his restraints, grabbing Mr Sinister by the throat and tossing him aside into the nearby wall, knocking over the tub of adamantinum in the process. Winter Soldier withdrew a handgun, as Logan broke the rest of his restraints, unsheathing his claws and lunging at Winter Soldier, taking several rounds to the chest. Logan impaled his claws into Winter Soldier's chest, before whirling around to see Mr Sinister getting up. He charged and lunged, slashing at his unprotected back. Mr Sinister cried out when his back was torn to shreds by Logan's ferocity, falling to his knees, as Logan looked around for a way out. However, someone was blocking his only way out

"Time to calm down, Logan," the figure said

"No way that's gonna happen, bub"

The figure was tall and seemed robotic, covered in blue armour. Everything about the mutant seemed blue, from his armour to his large dark blue lips, as he approached Logan, holding his hands up

"Calm down, Logan"

With a growl, Logan lunged at the mutant, only to get smacked down by a massive hammer. Apocalypse sighed, the hammer transforming back into his hand

"Mr Sinister, strap him down with something more resilient. Also, make sure Winter Soldier doesn't die on us"

Mr Sinister got to his feet, his injuries healed as he tended to Apocalypse's orders

_-XXXX-_

"What is going on here?" Scott asked, "What's with these things?"

Bastion raised his hands, which started glowing purple, before he unleashed a pair of energy blasts. Scott quickly countered with his optic blast, the pair having a standoff. The Sentinels moved forth, as the X-Men and Brotherhood took them on together

"We cannot allow mutants to destroy the world and humanity," Bastion said, "We will succeed where others have failed"

The skies turned dark, as lightning lashed the air, flying down and striking the Sentinels. One of them responded by firing an energy blast at Storm, who flew out of the way, only to get caught by a restraining device. Avalanche stomped his foot, creating an earthquake that caused the Sentinels to fall to their knees. Laura and Sabretooth lunged at the nearest one, attacking it with their claws. Bastion blasted Scott aside and turned his attentions to the two mutants, as Bobby froze the legs of another Sentinel, allowing Pyro to smash them with fireballs. The Sentinel came crashing down, as Juggernaut tore its head off, hurling it at Bastion. He blasted the head aside, then struck Juggernaut with energy blasts, throwing him through the air

Laura and Sabretooth destroyed the first Sentinel, as Bastion struck them with energy blasts, hurling them through the air. The last Sentinel was shooting energy blasts at the X-Men and Brotherhood, as Scott raised his sunglasses, focusing all of his power upon the giant robot. A huge hole was ripped through the Sentinel's chest, destroying it. Bastion saw this and calculating he wouldn't be able to defeat all the mutants, he decided to retreat, taking to the air with the jet thrusters in his boots

"I've got a feeling we haven't seen the last of him," Scott said

"I think you should walk away right now," Xavier said to the Brotherhood, "It seems there are higher things at stake than simple revenge"

"Come on, let's go," Mystique said, glaring at Xavier, "This isn't over"

As the Brotherhood turned to leave, Nightcrawler suddenly appeared before them

"Kurt?" Storm said

"He's being mind controlled," Emma called out

Nightcrawler disappeared in a puff of blue smoke, reappearing behind Sabretooth and grabbing him around the waist, before disappearing once again. However, he didn't reappear for a second time, causing Mystique to get angry

"What the hell is going on here?! What was the go with my son?!"

"Son?" Bobby questioned, "Well, I can see the resemblance"

"I'll locate him, don't worry," Xavier said

"I'll find him my own way," Mystique said, "And you better not get in my way"

She and the Brotherhood left the school grounds, as Xavier headed inside. However, as did so, a large piece of concrete, dislodged in the previous battle, fell from its position, landing upon Xavier and crushing his back. The X-Men flocked to his side, as Jean used her telekinesis to remove the concrete block

"Shit, is he going to be okay?" Scott asked

"Let's get him inside first," Jean said

Using her telekinesis, she took Xavier inside and to the medical ward

_-XXXX-_

Nightcrawler and Sabretooth appeared in the middle of a room, as Apocalypse walked in with a smile. Sabretooth growled and lunged at Apocalypse, only to be backhanded into the nearby wall, as Nightcrawler bowed before the ancient mutant

"You have done well, Nightcrawler," Apocalypse said, "I am proud of you"

"Thank you, sir"

"Now go and patrol the area. I want no visitors while I am conducting this"

"As you wish, sir"

Nightcrawler disappeared with a crack, as Apocalypse turned to Sabretooth and grinned

_-XXXX-_

"Well, his back is broken," Jean said, "The spinal cord and vertebrae are crushed. I don't think he'll be able to walk again"

"This is not what we needed," Scott said

"I know, but right now, we have to find Nightcrawler"

Jean led the way out of the medical ward and headed towards Cerebro, but Scott stopped her

"You're not using that thing again. Why not let Emma give it a try?"

"You think I'm that powerful of a telepath?" Emma asked

"Well, at least if you use it, there's a less chance of you transforming into the Phoenix and trying to murder everyone"

"The Phoenix is under control, Scott," Jean said, "Now let me go"

Her eyes blazed like fire and Scott let her go, as she strode into Cerebro with her head held high. The doors closed behind her, as Scott let out a long sigh

"Yeah, you two are getting along just fine," Emma said

A few minutes passed before Jean came out of Cerebro, as Scott and Emma waited

"Nightcrawler's in Canada. But he's not the only one. Logan and Warren are also there, along with at least three other mutants. And one of them is powerful"

"Rescue mission it is then," Scott said, "I'll go prepare the jet. Get everyone ready"

_-XXXX-_


	17. Chapter 17

_-XXXX-_

Logan growled as he was thrust into the arena. Just previously, he had been whipped countless times by Winter Soldier and was prevented by Apocalypse from killing him. He could smell that Nightcrawler was about and that there was something slightly different about him, as if he was under some sort of mind control

The lights flared on, briefly blinding Logan as a fist slammed into his face, staggering him. Snarling and unsheathing his claws, Wolverine slashed back, but Sabretooth caught his arm and tossed him against the wall, temporarily winding him

"You have no adamantinum?" Sabretooth said, "That's a shame. Guess that'll make it easier for me to break you in half"

"Guess again, bub," Wolverine growled, getting to his feet, "It's your unlucky day"

"Well, for one of you anyway," came Apocalypse's voice over the loudspeaker, "This is a little something I like to call sudden death. Whoever wins will become my Horseman of War"

"Horseman of War?" Sabretooth asked

"One of my personal henchmen. You should see who Death is"

A screen flickered to life, showing a conscious Warren strapped to an upright table, as Mr Sinister worked on something nearby. He then injected something into Warren's body, causing him great pain, as metallic wings grew out from his back. At the same time, his skin was turned blue and a blue and purple outfit appeared on his body

"Meet Archangel," Apocalypse said, "And one of you two will join him. Fight it out"

The screen turned off, as Sabretooth and Wolverine turned back to each other

"That position is going to me," Sabretooth growled

"I don't think so, bub," Wolverine countered, "You're not walking out of here alive"

"How are you gonna survive against me? I have an adamantinum skeleton. You don't. You have no chance""

Sabretooth roared and charged at Wolverine, slamming him against the wall. Wolverine snarled when he felt several ribs breaking and then he was thrown through the air. He slid to a stop, his ribs healing, as he got to his feet and ducked under Sabretooth's fist, before slashing him across the face. Sabretooth growled, touching the blood and striking Wolverine in the jaw, then punching him in the stomach, sinking his claws in. gritting his teeth, Wolverine stabbed Sabretooth in the chest, as he was lifted up and slammed against a wall

_-XXXX-_

"Okay, we're nearly there," Jean said, "Just over this ridge"

The X-Jet flew over the snowy hills, flying over a large fortress. Already they could see that the Brotherhood was already there, fighting against Apocalypse's guards, while Nightcrawler was battling against the Brotherhood. Omega Red struck him with a tendril and was chastised by Mystique, as Storm landed the jet nearby

"Get ready. This is going to be messy," Cyclops said

The hatch opened up and the X-Men piled out, heading towards the fortress, as the Brotherhood continued fighting against the guards, distracting them. However, Avalanche saw the X-Men sneaking past and shouted out to his teammates

"Oh crap, here we go," Storm said

Her eyes turned white, as she created a blizzard, blinding the Brotherhood. Cyclops blasted the door open and headed inside with the X-Men following after him. At that moment, Juggernaut came bursting through the wall, a grin on his face

"You can't hide from me," he chuckled

"I'll take care of this guy," Colossus said, changing forms

"I'll help you," Shadowcat offered

"No, you go with them"

"No, I'm staying here"

"Just make up your mind," Juggernaut interrupted

The X-Men headed off, as Colossus cracked his neck and walked over. Juggernaut grinned and dodged the first punch, getting struck by the second punch, before swinging his own fist and cracking Colossus across the jaw

"Okay, where are we going to find Logan?" Cyclops asked

"This way," Jean said, "He's not far away"

She headed off in his direction, rounding a corner and finding the Brotherhood standing before them, minus Mystique. She was outside with Nightcrawler, having used magic from the Scarlet Witch to break the mind control over him

"You got what you came for," Jean said, reading Pyro's mind, "Why are you still here?"

"Because we're not finished with you yet," Pyro replied

He sent forth a huge blast of fire, which Jean stopped with her telekinesis. The rest of the Brotherhood moved forth to engage the rest of the X-Men in combat. Havoc blasted Omega Red in the chest, smashing him through a wall, while Gambit swung his staff at Quicksilver, charging his weapon up with kinetic energy and managing to strike Quicksilver in the chest, blasting him through the air. Deathstrike and X23 disappeared into another room, while Cyclops battled against Toad, as Iceman went up against Avalanche and Blob, with help from Storm

Deathstrike kicked X23 in the face, extending her claws and slashing her across the face. X23 growled, unsheathing her claws and striking, only to miss as Deathstrike blocked and kneed her in the stomach, then slashing her across the chest and kicking her against the wall. X23 groaned, getting to her feet and dodging the slashes, as she lashed out, hitting something metallic on Deathstrike. The mutant smiled and sliced away her sleeves, revealing the adamantinum covering them

"Apocalypse took the metal out of me and covered parts of my body with it," Deathstrike said, answering X23's unasked question, "Good luck destroying me"

X23 lunged and slashed; getting thrown into the wall again, more cuts covering her body. Getting to her feet, she sliced away the top half of her uniform, revealing a black midriff tank top. She still had her gloves on, while the leggings of her uniform were held up by her belt

"Leather was getting in the way," X23 said, "Now, that's better"

Deathstrike lunged and sliced, as X23 dodged her and spun around, slashing her back. She scored an elbow to the face, but ducked under Deathstrike's roundhouse kick and stabbed. Deathstrike caught her wrist and twisted backwards, stabbing her in the stomach several times. X23 slashed her across the face, before twisting her body and throwing Deathstrike over her shoulder. The mutant kicked X23 in the face and flipped onto her feet, as X23 did a cartwheel. Her foot claw popped out, impaling Deathstrike through the face. Removing her claw, X23 landed on her feet, smiling at Deathstrike's body slumped to the floor, blood pooling around her head

"Now to find Dad"

_-XXXX-_

Wolverine was panting heavily, his wounds healing as he stared down at the defeated form of Sabretooth. His blood had pooled around him from the multiple wounds he received from Wolverine in the furious fight. Sabretooth was still alive, but too weak to do anything, as Wolverine turned his back

"Why don't you kill me?" Sabretooth asked

"Because you're not worth it," Wolverine replied

"But you are," Apocalypse said, appearing in the room, "Congratulations, Wolverine, you have now earned your rightful place at my side"

"But I don't-"

"Have adamantinum? No problem. Say thank you to your friend, Sabretooth"

Mr Sinister arrived and carried Sabretooth out of the room, as Apocalypse led Logan to the lab room, where Archangel was still restrained, but Daken was also there. And he looked like he had been transformed as well, with black marking covering his body, pointed ears and a red glow under his eyelids

"Why you" Logan growled

He turned on Apocalypse, only to get knocked out by his massive hammer

"Ah dear. Well, let's begin"

_-XXXX-_


	18. Chapter 18

_-XXXX-_

"Apocalypse, we have guests," Winter Soldier said, "The X-Men and the Brotherhood are here for their team-mates"

"Don't worry, we'll return them," Apocalypse said, "In a few moments"

He injected something into both Archangel and Daken, before undoing their restraints. Opening their eyes, the two mutants stretched, before bowing

"What do you order of us?" Archangel asked

"Take care of the X-Men and Brotherhood," Apocalypse replied

The mutants headed off, as Logan groggily opened his eyes. He was losing count over how many times he had been unconscious these past few months and it was starting to irritate him. He saw Apocalypse working on something and struggled against his restraints, as Apocalypse held up a syringe attached to a tub of boiling adamantinum. Sabretooth was unconscious nearby, his latest injury slowly healing

"What did you do?" Logan asked

"I simply harvested his adamantinum. You're getting your metal back"

Apocalypse injected the adamantinum into Logan's body, bonding it to his bones, as Logan cried out in pain, molten hot steel pulsing under his flesh, as Apocalypse kept injecting the liquid metal, being very delicate in his work

"Soon, Logan, you'll have your indestructible body back. Soon, you'll be mine"

Under the intense pain of the molten hot metal, Logan passed out

_-XXXX-_

The battle was still raging out in the corridors, as Colossus and Juggernaut kept smashing through the walls, causing total destruction, as the X-Men and Brotherhood kept up the vicious fighting. Blob had several deep cuts on his huge stomach from X23, while Cyclops had a burn mark on his right shoulder from Pyro. However, the fighting came to an abrupt halt when Archangel and Daken appeared

"Oh, that doesn't look good," Gambit said

Archangel flexed out his metallic wings, firing off several sharp feathers. Pyro scorched them and was smacked into a wall, as Archangel spun around and kicked Jean in the stomach, throwing her back. Cyclops fired an optic blast, which Archangel ducked, before uppercutting him on the jaw. Gambit and Havoc attacked, only to get smacked aside, followed by Toad and Omega Red. Daken saw X23 and grinned, before charging at her, tackling her around the waist and sliding along the floor. She stabbed her claws into his torso, as he struck her and got to his feet

"So, you're the clone of my father?" he asked, his eyes glowing red

"Ah, so you're my brother," X23 said, getting up

"No, I'm not your brother, simply because you're not related to me. You're not a part of my family. You're just a simple clone"

"No, I'm not"

"You were just raised to be a weapon"

"Yeah and weren't you?"

"I wasn't an experiment. I actually existed. I have a place in the world. You don't"

X23 growled, rage taking over her and she lashed out. Daken grinned and caught her arm, popping out his claws and stabbing her bare stomach. X23 groaned, swinging her other fist, only for Daken to twist and slam her against the wall. Flicking out her foot claw, X23 swung her leg out, but Daken jumped over her leg, as she got to her feet and kicked. He blocked and stabbed, but she dodged and kicked him in the stomach, her claw slicing through his flesh. Daken groaned, as X23 elbowed him in the jaw. Growling, he slashed her face, then her stomach, before kicking her through the wall

"A clone, X, that's all you are. Nothing more," he said, following after her, "Never meant to have a life, never meant to have a family"

"I am more than a clone, Daken," X23 said, "I am Wolverine's daughter. I am your sister. I am more Wolverine's flesh and blood than you are"

Daken growled and slashed, but X23 ducked, slicing him across his flank, as he whirled around, rage in his eyes. X23 kicked at his head, but he caught her leg and kicked her other leg out. X23 landed heavily, rolling away onto her feet and blocking Daken's next strike, as he slashed at her with his other fist

"You know, bone claws are useless against steel claws," she said

And to prove her point, she kneed him in the gut, before slicing through his claws. Daken growled at this, kicking X23 in the face, then slamming her face into the nearby wall. Popping his claws out, Daken ran them against the wall to quickly sharpen them, then stabbed them into X23's throat. She choked on her blood, as he threw her across the room

"You can stay there, bleeding Wolverine's blood all over the floor"

X23 slumped against the wall, as Daken grinned and left the room to join in the fight

_-XXXX-_

Logan opened his eyes. He blinked rapidly against the bright light, feeling strength coursing through him. Apocalypse was standing before him, a smile on his face

"And how are we feeling, War?"

"Wha-?"

"Ah, much better I see. Rise up and take your place as my Horseman of War"

Apocalypse removed the restraints, as Logan fell to his hands and knees. He felt a surge of power pulse through him and rose to his feet, an evil grin appearing on his face, showing off his large, sharpened canines

"I am ready to serve thee," War grinned

"Excellent. I have three Horsemen ready to serve me. All I need is one more"

"I smell blood and violence"

"Go and enjoy. Introduce yourself to your old friends"

War headed off in the direction of the battle, as Apocalypse smiled. Slowly, it was all coming together. A battle would be raged and he would be left as the ruler of the strongest warriors in the world. Then from there, he would branch out into the galaxy

_-XXXX-_

"Logan! There you are," Jean cried, "We've been looking for you"

War simply popped his adamantinum claws out and walked up to Pyro, stabbing him in the back. Pyro cried out, as War removed his claws and slashed at Iceman, narrowly missing him

"Whoa there, Logan, what's going on?" Iceman asked, creating a shield of ice

"It looks like War has finally joined us," Death said

"Let's lay waste to these pathetic warriors," Famine growled

At that moment, Apocalypse appeared amongst the mutants, as his horsemen flocked to him, standing by his side and grinning at the other mutants

"I think it's time we took this elsewhere," Apocalypse said, "Let's go and start the battle that will end all battles"

And with that, he and the horsemen disappeared in a flash of light

"What the hell was that all about?" Cyclops asked

"The battle to end all battles," Jean said, "That can't be good"

"Where did they go?" Shadowcat said

"Where's X23?" Storm asked

She and Iceman went looking in the nearby rooms, finding her unconscious, her hair matted with blood, as Iceman picked her up gently

"Let's get out of here," Mystique called

She and the Brotherhood quickly left, as the X-Men headed back to their jet. Storm and Jean flew the jet into the air, before taking off back towards the mansion

"I'm doing a search of power waves," Cyclops said, "I should be able to find them"

"Hurry it up if you can," Storm said, "We can't waste too much time"

_-XXXX-_

"Yes, this will do," Apocalypse said

He and his horsemen had appeared in New York Town Square. The citizens were running away in fear from having seen the four mutants appear out of nowhere, as Famine and War popped their claws out, eager to cause some slaughtering, while Death spread his wings and hovered overhead

"Yes, take them all," Apocalypse ordered

_-XXXX-_


	19. Chapter 19

_-XXXX-_

"They're in New York," Cyclops said, "That mutant…his power wave is surging so high, it's spiking off the meter. This is one powerful guy"

"We'll stop him," Jean said, "We have to free the others first"

"Is she going to be okay?" Shadowcat asked, looking at X23's prone form

"She should be fine," Iceman replied, "I can't see any injuries"

"Okay, everyone get ready," Cyclops said, "This fight coming up, it's going to unlike anything we've faced before. Some of us could die here"

"We're ready," Iceman said

"I'm not giving up on my father or brother," X23 said, slowly waking up, "They've been brainwashed by that mutant. I can save them"

"If worse comes to worse, we may have to kill them," Cyclops said

"Guten tag"

Shadowcat screamed in shock when Nightcrawler suddenly appeared on the jet

"Jeez, trying to give us a heart attack?" Gambit demanded

"Meine entschuldigungen. I am deeply ashamed for what I've done"

"What happened to you?" Storm asked

"That monster, Apocalypse, kidnapped me. Used the same serum that Stryker used on me. Made me do his bidding"

"So, what can we expect from our friend, Apocalypse?" Cyclops asked

_-XXXX-_

Death fired several steel feathers, impaling civilians, as War and Famine were slicing into the civilians, cutting a bloody swath through them. All the while Apocalypse watched them, a smile on his face. A sudden energy blast struck him and he whirled around to see three Sentinels heading towards him, being led by Bastion

"You will perish here, fiend," Bastion said

He raised his hands and fired twin energy blasts at Apocalypse, who created a shield with his right arm to block the attack. Death flew at one Sentinel, firing feathers at it and dodging the restraining tendrils, before diving close and slashing his wings forward, decapitating the Sentinel, as War slashed a Sentinel's leg, then used his claws to run up the body and stab it multiple times in the face. The third Sentinel was taken down by Famine, as Bastion kept up his assault against Apocalypse

"The destruction of mutants in inevitable," Bastion said

He fired a blast at War at close range, stripping the flesh from his torso, before dodging Famine's claws and shooting him in the back with energy. Death flew down and slashed with his wings, as Bastion flew up and away, firing an energy beam at him. Dodging the beam, Death flew at Bastion and sliced at his chest, but Bastion flew down, landing on the ground and was about to fire another energy blast, when War lunged forth and neatly sliced his head off

"Well done, my horsemen," Apocalypse said, "Now, let's continue"

At that moment, Death was kicked to the ground, as someone swung overhead and landed before Apocalypse

"Nice duds," Spider-Man said, "Who are you?"

"I am Apocalypse. And you are Spider-Man"

"Great, we've been introduced. Shall we get down to the butt-kicking?"

"Very well then. Horsemen, take him"

"Ah shucks," Spider-Man said, seeing the Horsemen

He dodged Famine and fired several web balls at War, as Death sliced through his web. Spider-Man shot two weblines out, flying towards Death and delivering a kicking backflip to him, before attaching a line to his chest and flying in. He dodged one of the wings, punching Death and then pushing him away, while attaching weblines to him and pulling him in, delivering a punch each time he did, before spinning around and stomping on Death's back, slamming him to the ground

"Impressive," Apocalypse said

Spider-Man then did a flip away from Famine's claws and swept his legs out, as War caught his backhand, twisted his arm and landed a spin kick on his ribs, Spider-Man skidded along the pavement, shooting web balls at Death, who sliced them apart and landed before Spider-Man, stabbing his wingtips into the ground around his head

"Time to die," Death growled

A small rocket struck him in the chest, as Iron Man landed before Spider-Man and helped him to his feet. At the same time, the X-Jet landed on the street

"Looked like you needed some help," Iron Man said

"Well, we're about to get some more," Spider-Man said

"Well, this is perfect," Apocalypse grinned, "This is how it should be"

"Game's over, Apocalypse," Cyclops said, "Now release them"

"I've got an entertaining idea. How about you fight them and see if you can release them? Course, they will try to kill you. No holding back. Can you risk killing them?"

"We will stop you," Cyclops said, "X-Men, take him down"

"Destroy them, my Horsemen," Apocalypse said

Cyclops fired an optic blast that threw Famine through the air, as Death fired his steel feathers. Jean diverted them with telekinesis, as Spider-Man pulled himself into the air with webs, then shot towards Apocalypse, who simply batted him aside with ease. Iron Man took off into the air, as Death flew at him, firing feathers. Iron Man deflected the bladed weapons with his armguards, as Death sliced at him, denting his armour. Iron Man then punched Death in the jaw, scoring a punch in return

Colossus charged at Apocalypse, getting smashed through a building as a result, as Gambit charged up a few cards and threw them. A large opening appeared in Apocalypse's chest, as the cards sailed through harmlessly. The opening then disappeared, as Apocalypse grinned at Gambit

"Oh damn, didn't see that coming"

War snarled and lunged forth, as X23 tackled him, rolling across the road. Famine charged at Havoc, dodging the twin energy blasts and lunging at him. Nightcrawler appeared before him, kicking him in the face, then grabbing him and teleporting to a low-rise building and dropping Famine off the edge. Famine landed on his feet, growling at Nightcrawler, before racing towards Iceman, who created a barrier of ice, but Famine leapt over that with ease, as Jean's eyes turned fiery red. Apocalypse saw this and grinned, heading towards her, one of his hands transforming into a large sword. An aura of flames in the shape of a bird appeared around Jean and she began to levitate, before unleashing a blast of pyrokinetic energy. Apocalypse blocked the flames with a shield from his left arm, as he slashed at her with the other. Jean blocked with flames and punched Apocalypse across the street

"Wow," Cyclops simply said

Iron Man and Spider-Man were flying about, dodging and blocking Death's attacks, showing aerial and acrobatic skills enough to rival Death's enhanced abilities

"Yeah, come towards the big spider, you ugly bird," Spider-Man called

Death growled and shot towards him, as Iron Man flew in front, firing off flares and blinding Death. As the Horseman reeled back, Iron Man flew in and delivered a power punch, knowing Death towards the road, as Spider-Man zipped after him

"Time to wrap up the present"

He created a cocoon of webbing around Death, trapping his limbs, but Death snarled, using his wings to slice through the webbing, as Spider-Man zipped away with Death close behind him and Iron Man close behind him

Apocalypse smashed through Iceman's wall and kicked him across the city square, before dodging Cyclops' optic blast and smacking Colossus aside with ease. Famine lunged at Gambit, who threw him aside with his staff, before throwing several energised cards. Famine sliced through them, only for them to explode and hurtle him across the street, as Gambit grinned, twirling his staff around

"That wasn't a wise move for you, my friend"

Famine got to his feet with a growl, as Gambit looked up past him

"This is not good"

Five Sentinels had arrived, marching towards the mutants with their red eyes flashing

"Nope, not good at all"

_-XXXX-_


	20. Chapter 20

_-XXXX-_

War slashed, but X23 blocked and spun inwards, elbowing him in the ribs. However, it left her open and she gritted her teeth in pain when six claws stabbed into her lower back. War lifted her up on his claws and slammed her against a building wall. X23 elbowed backwards, striking him in the face, before whirling around and slashing

"Logan, you have to stop this," she said, dodging his claws, "You have to fight it"

"Shut up, you irritating little clone," War growled

"I am more than a clone," X23 retaliated

"Really? How so, X?"

War lunged and slashed, pushing X23 against the wall. She kneed him in the ribs and slashed him across the face, before kicking him in the chest. War flipped onto his feet, ducking X23's slash and stabbing her in the stomach, before throwing her onto the street. He charged at her, but she kicked his legs out from underneath, sending him sprawling nearby

"All my life, I thought I was nothing but a tool," X23 said, getting up, "Just a weapon for use by Stryker. But then, you taught me that I was more than that"

"Shut up and die"

War slashed, but X23 ducked and stabbed into his ribs. Snarling, War punched her, then grabbed her arm and snapped it at the elbow. X23 refused to cry out, as War threw her along the street. Cuts appeared on her back and flank, but healed, as she positioned her broken arm back into place and waited for it to heal completely

"I am more than a clone and you know it. Well, Logan does anyway," X23 said as War approached, "I am your flesh and blood. I am your daughter"

"You are no child of mine," War growled

He kicked her in the stomach, then uppercutted her. X23 flicked out her foot claw and stabbed War in the chest, but he grabbed her by the leg and throat, before dropping her onto the road. She kicked him in the jaw and with her arm healed, flipped onto her feet, popping her claws out. War growled and lunged at her

"I'm sorry…Dad"

War faulted in his attack, as X23 dodged and slashed his throat. War stumbled back, falling to his knees, the word 'Dad' reverberating through his mind. It touched something deep inside, bringing Logan to the surface and fight against the brainwashing that had been inflicted on him. Wolverine growled as he fought a mental battle, before finally breaking the mind control. He gasped in short breaths, supporting himself on his hands and knees as X23 knelt beside him

"You okay?"

"I'm good, kid. Thanks"

He looked over his shoulder at the battle raging on

"What do you say we go lend a hand?"

"I say that's a good idea"

"Good. Come on, Laura"

_-XXXX-_

Cyclops unleashed a powerful laser blast, knocking one Sentinel down, as another Sentinel fired at him. Cyclops dived out of the way, as Gambit threw several cards. They exploded around the Sentinel's hand, completely severing it. Gambit grinned and did a mocking bow, before dodging a third Sentinel's restraining tendril. Meanwhile, Phoenix was having a telekinetic battle with Apocalypse. Anything caught in their way was destroyed in the furious fight. Colossus lifted up a nearby van and launched it at Apocalypse. He backhanded it with ease, accidentally taking down Death, who had Spider-Man in his clutches, ready to deliver a final blow. Spider-Man zipped onto a nearby building, watching as Death plummeted to the road with the van

"That's gonna hurt in the morning"

Iron Man landed and removed the van, as Death sat up, holding his head in pain

"How you feeling, Warren?" he asked cautiously, as Spider-Man landed nearby

"Like I woke up from a really bad nightmare," Archangel replied, shakily getting up

"Yeah, welcome to the club"

"So the bad guy is now on our side?" Spider-Man said, "I need a scorecard"

Archangel looked over at Apocalypse fighting the X-Men and a savage look overcame him, as he spread his metallic wings and took off

"This is going to end messily," Spider-Man commented

Apocalypse dodged Phoenix's pryokinetic attack and launched a telekinetic blast, smashing her through a building, then dodging Havoc's energy blasts. Teleporting beside Havoc, he lifted him up and was about to throw him when Archangel flew down, firing several feathers. Apocalypse dropped Havoc, stumbling back as he removed the feathers and Archangel landed before him

"You're gonna pay for what you did to me," Archangel growled

"You wanted your wings and I gave them to you," Apocalypse said calmly

Archangel growled and launched himself at Apocalypse, only to be thrown aside easily, as Wolverine and X23 came in, slashing at the ancient mutant. He whirled around and backhanded them both, as Famine lunged at the pair. Wolverine was on his feet in an instant, blocking Famine's strike and knocking him down. Cyclops fired an optic blast at Apocalypse, who deflected it with his shield, before creating a spear out of the shield and striking Cyclops in the chest. He went down, as Apocalypse turned and smacked down Archangel with a war hammer

Iron Man and Spider-Man flew in, firing projectiles at Apocalypse, who blocked them, before flying up towards them. At that moment, Phoenix burst out of the building, wreathed in flames, as she shot towards Apocalypse. He punched down Iron Man, before grabbing Phoenix by the throat and flying higher into the sky

"Let's see how powerful that Dark Phoenix really is," he grinned

"I don't think you really want to know," Phoenix said

Flames appeared in her eyes, as the aura of fire around her grew larger. However, as the air got thinner, the flames slowly started to die. Apocalypse grinned, as he raised his left arm, now a sword. But as he was about to deliver the blow, a laser beam struck his arm and he let Phoenix go. Summoning her power, Phoenix burst into flames and flew back at Apocalypse, as Iron Man joined her. This time, the flames didn't die out in the thin atmosphere

"You're tapping into the dark reserves," Apocalypse said, "How long will that last before you're consumed by the Dark Phoenix?"

"Long enough to destroy you," she growled

She launched a large fireball, which Apocalypse batted aside, as Iron Man flew up and delivered a blow to Apocalypse's jaw. The ancient mutant retaliated with a blow to Iron Man's mid section, then delivered a hammer drop to his face. The blow dazed Iron Man as he fell back towards Earth. Phoenix kicked Apocalypse in the stomach, as he punched her in the face and kneed her in the ribs. Phoenix tapped further into her dark reserves, creating a bigger aura of flames around her, as she telekinetically blasted Apocalypse out into space. She flew after him, the mystical flames protecting her from the deadly effects of outer space

"Impressive powers you have there," Apocalypse grinned, "But it won't help you for long. Soon, it will consume you and compel you to destroy everything in your way"

"Shut up! I'll hold out long enough to destroy you," Phoenix growled

"Hm, we'll see"

_-XXXX-_

Meanwhile, the rest of the X-Men and Spider-Man were fighting against the Sentinels, as Wolverine and X23 fought against Famine, who was able to hold his own against the pair. Famine slashed Wolverine across the chest, then kicked X23 in the stomach when she came up behind him, before slashing a double uppercut on Wolverine, throwing him onto his back. X23 lunged, kicking Famine in the back with her bladed foot. He roared and elbowed her, before grabbing her and throwing her aside. Wolverine got to his feet and slashed Famine across the chest, then stabbed him in the stomach. Famine struck his father and threw him aside, before battling his sister

Getting to his feet, Wolverine raced at Famine, tackling him around the waist and rolling across the street. Famine kicked him off and flipped onto his feet, as Wolverine blocked his furious strikes and countered with his own. X23 slashed at Famine's unprotected back, but he turned around in time and grabbed her wrist, before stabbing her in the chest. Wolverine grabbed Famine by the shoulders and kneed him in the back, then threw him onto the road. At that moment, Iron Man came flying down. He had been dazed by Apocalypse's attack and was trying to slow him momentum, but only to a slight degree. Just as he managed to stabilise himself, it was too late and he slammed into Famine, crushing him into the road. Wolverine rushed over and rolled Iron Man away, before checking for Famine's vitals. He was still alive, but unconscious, the red glow in his eyes having faded away

"Get him to the X-Jet," Wolverine told X23, "And you," he said to Iron Man, "You're coming with me"

_-XXXX-_


	21. Chapter 21

_-XXXX-_

Dodging an energy blast, Cyclops returned one of his own, decapitating the Sentinel. The body and head came crashing down, as Colossus and Iceman brought down another Sentinel together, leaving three Sentinels remaining

"Hey Tin Man, give us your throwing arm," Wolverine called

"You're not gonna try and kill us?" Cyclops asked, his hand near his visor

"Maybe you, but we'll save that for a later time"

"Okay then"

Colossus headed over to Wolverine and grabbed him, spinning around once and launching him towards the nearest Sentinel. Wolverine stabbed his claws into the robot's neck, before dodging one of its hands and slashing at the neck, decapitating the Sentinel, as it came crashing down. Wolverine jumped off the fallen body and grinned, as Cyclops shook his head, before firing at the nearest Sentinel

"Tell you what, that looked kinda cool," Spider-Man said, dodging a tendril

He created a shield out of webbing to block an incoming energy blast, as Iron Man diverted his energy to his chest piece, firing a large energy blast that toppled a Sentinel. It landed on the surrounding buildings, destroying them and creating a cloud of dust that cloaked the combatants

"Oh good one, Stark," Spider-Man said, "Bring down the house, why don't you"

"Parker, did I ever tell you that I'm dating MJ behind your back?"

"You're not serious, are you? Please tell me you're joking. I'll kill you otherwise"

Iron Man chuckled and flew towards the next Sentinel, as Spider-Man fumed

"Yeah, I'm gonna kill him"

Storm flew into the air, causing the skies to go dark, as she summoned several lightning bolts to strike a Sentinel, overloading its computer system and destroying it. The Sentinel fell to its knees, before falling over onto its face. The last Sentinel struck Storm with an energy blast, before sweeping the X-Men aside with its tendrils. Havoc struck the Sentinel with twin energy blasts, as Nightcrawler teleported him to the Sentinel's head. Havoc then fired his energy into the Sentinel's head, obliterating it, as Nightcrawler teleported him away from the exploding robot

"Well, now that they're taken care of-" Cyclops started

"It's time to end this!"

The X-Men turned around, seeing the Brotherhood being led by Mystique

"You will pay for what you've done to Magneto," Mystique said

"Ah, this is gonna suck," Gambit said

_-XXXX-_

Phoenix dodged Apocalypse's telescopic fist and struck him with a fireball. He hit the ground, skidding along until he came to a stop near a crater. Shaking his head, he got to his feet and dodged Phoenix's fist, before elbowing her in the stomach and uppercutting her. The pair were battling on Earth's moon, equalling trading blows and matching each other's skills

"You know, I quite like this dance," Apocalypse said, blocking and kicking

"You think this is a game?" Phoenix demanded, holding her stomach, "You have caused the deaths of several people with your Horsemen"

"Speaking of which, if you defeat me for ordering the civilians' deaths, are you going to punish my Horsemen for killing them. If they have been freed from my control"

"They had no control over what they were doing. I know Wolverine. He wouldn't kill an innocent person"

"So you think. You'd be surprised at how many people Wolverine has killed. Well, it's nowhere as impressive as my body count, but admirable in the least"

"I will destroy you"

"Give me your best shot"

Phoenix launched a pyrokinetic blast, which Apocalypse deflected with his shield, before flying at him. Dodging her fist, Apocalypse then rammed his sword through her stomach and out her back, as she gasped in pain. The flames started to die, as Apocalypse flew away from the moon and back towards Earth

"So sorry it had to end this way," he said, "But it was worthwhile"

He then removed his sword and kicked the Phoenix on her wound, pushing her back towards Earth, as the flames surrounding her were only about an inch high on her body. Phoenix fell through the atmosphere at alarming speeds, her body heating up rapidly from the speed and she found it hard to breathe or concentrate on saving herself, as Apocalypse watched her plummet from space

"Time to finish this"

_-XXXX-_

Cyclops stopped Pyro's large fireball with his optic blast, as Iron Man slammed his fist into Juggernaut's stomach. Juggernaut grinned and backhanded him through the air, as Gambit evenly matched Toad's moves. Havoc fired a blast of energy, which was stopped by Scarlet Witch's magic, while Wolverine fought Omega Red and X23 took on Sabretooth. Iceman froze Avalanche in his tracks, but the mutant smashed the ice around his feet and continued towards Iceman. Shadowcat then grabbed Avalanche by the legs and phased through the road, trapping him in the street, before rising up in front of him. Avalanche growled and smashed the road around him

"That sucks," Iceman said

Spider-Man was fighting against Quicksilver, getting hammered by his lightning quick blows, while Mystique battled against Storm in hand-to-hand combat. As the battle raged, Phoenix came falling through the sky, trying to ignite her aura. The flames appeared, surrounding her in a powerful explosion. Any nearby buildings in the area was destroyed, incinerated by her power, as she hovered above the street

"Jean?" Wolverine asked, before getting socked by Omega Red

Phoenix looked to the sky, as Apocalypse came flying down, slashing with his sword. Phoenix dodged the blade and telekinetically blasted him across the street. Apocalypse shook his head and stepped out of the crumbling building, grinning as Phoenix floated towards him

"Impressive. For a minute there, I thought you weren't going to make it"

"Don't worry. You won't make it this time around," Phoenix said

"You may be powerful, but I don't think you have enough power to defeat me"

"Let's test that theory"

Phoenix flew forth to fight Apocalypse, as the X-Men and Brotherhood stopped their fighting, watching the battle unfold

"Who the hell is that guy?" Juggernaut asked

"His name is Apocalypse," Cyclops replied, "He's a very powerful mutant"

"He dangerous?"

"Very dangerous," Wolverine answered, "Could even destroy you"

"We'll see about that"

Juggernaut broke into a run, charging at Apocalypse. The ancient mutant saw this and slammed a hammer into Juggernaut, sending him flying across the city square

"Home run," Spider-Man said dryly

Juggernaut groaned and got to his feet, dusting the bitumen off his shoulders

"That's it, he's going down! Who's with me?"

"I am," Quicksilver said

He shot towards Apocalypse as fast as the speed of light, only to come in contact painfully with a large shield. Quicksilver dropped to the ground, as Archangel flew in, firing his razor-sharp feathers. Apocalypse blocked those as well, before teleporting behind Phoenix and running her through from behind

"Jean!" Cyclops cried

"Don't worry, it won't kill her," Apocalypse said, "She survived one earlier. But the question is, how many can you take before you die?"

"Let's find out, bub"

Apocalypse dropped Phoenix and turned around, as Wolverine slashed him with his claws. Cyclops fired an optic blast, striking him in the chest, as Storm summoned a large lightning bolt. Apocalypse took these blows without any effect, before grabbing Omega Red by his tentacles and tossing him through the air with ease. The X-Men headed towards him, but he created a large wall out of his body, knocking them back, as Phoenix slowly got to her feet, blood dripping from her lips

"You can't defeat me," Apocalypse said, "You can fight me, but you can't defeat me"

Iceman froze his legs, as Wolverine stabbed Apocalypse in the chest

"How about now?"

Apocalypse simply laughed, punching Wolverine away, before breaking the ice and disappearing. However, he didn't reappear again, as the X-Men looked around

"I'd say he's gone for now," Iron Man said

_-XXXX-_


	22. Chapter 22

**Final Chapter!**

_-XXXX-_

"Where'd he go?" Wolverine asked, "I wasn't done with him!"

'_Well congratulations,'_ came Apocalypse's voice

"Where the hell did that come from?" Cyclops asked

"He's speaking to us telepathically," Phoenix said

_'Correct, Ms. Grey. You defeated my Horsemen, gave me a hell of a fight and I'd say to a small degree, beat me. But you didn't completely defeat me. I have gained something out of this"_

"Oh well and what's that?" Storm asked

_'The humans. They see you as a threat once again. You can tell from the Sentinels they've built to destroy you. Soon, the war will begin once again between man and mutant. The weak ones will die, the strong will live. And I will be their ruler'_

"It won't come to that," Cyclops said, "There will be no war. We'll prevent it"

_'You keep thinking that, Mr. Summers. But in the long run, the war will ravage the planet. Everyone must take a side or risk destruction. The war is inevitable'_

"You planned this, didn't you?" Wolverine asked angrily

_'I saved some mutants from death to use in this plan. But really, you can thank Pyro for starting it all. Wouldn't have done it without him'_

"Well in that case then," Iron Man said, "Pyro, you're under arrest"

"Yeah? Stop me," Pyro challenged, "We're outta here"

Iron Man went to shoot at him, but Avalanche stopped him by causing an earthquake. In that moment, the Brotherhood took their chance to flee from the scene, as the X-Men surveyed the destruction around him. Cyclops and Iron Man headed over to Bastion's body and severed head

"Who the hell was this?" Cyclops asked

"I think he was the leader of the Sentinels," Iron Man replied, "I'll get Fury to take a better look at him"

"Was Apocalypse right?" Shadowcat asked, "About the coming war"

"It won't happen," Iron Man said, "I'll make sure it doesn't happen"

"Well, I say we call it a day," Wolverine said, "Got things to take care of"

"I'll see you around," Iron Man said

He picked up Bastion's head and flew away into the sky, as Spider-Man gave the X-Men a small wave, before heading for the rooftops. The X-Men then got onto the X-Jet, as Cyclops and Storm started the engines up

"Wow, how seriously messed-up can we get?" Gambit asked

"Apparently, a lot," Wolverine said, kneeing beside Daken's prone form

"Storm, take us out of here," Cyclops said

She hovered the jet into the air, before taking off back towards the mansion

_-XXXX-_

"Apocalypse?" Nick Fury asked, "A powerful mutant who wants a war?"

"That's the one," Tony Stark replied, "A war between humans and mutants"

"Hopefully, it won't come to that, but seeing how the President's responded"

"He ordered the creation of the Sentinels?"

"In response to attacks from the Brotherhood. They had to be stopped"

"What did you get on the Sentinel leader?"

"Not much," Fury replied, "Its name is Bastion and its mission is to protect humanity from the mutant world by any means necessary. Including killing mutants"

"What do you propose we do about Apocalypse?" Stark asked

"Well, for starters, we keep an eye out for him. He shows up, we'll take him down, hopefully permanently this time"

"We can't have a war between humans and mutants. It ended very messily last time around. We have to find and stop Apocalypse"

Stark let out a sigh

"But I don't think that will do it"

"What makes you say that?" Fury asked

"Apocalypse said the war is inevitable," Stark answered, "If that's the case, then destroying Apocalypse is not going to prevent. It will happen, no matter what"

"This whole thing started because of the Brotherhood. If we can shut them down, then there's a chance we can stop this. The President is afraid of the mutants and their powers. Probably explains why he agreed to the Sentinels. But because of the Sentinels, the mutants are going to strike back and the war will start"

"So we stop the Brotherhood and the Sentinels. That's not going to be easy"

"I never said it was," Fury said solemnly

He looked through the window, staring at the head of Bastion, which was hooked up to wires. The door read 'HIGHLY RESTRICTED ACCESS', as Fury and Stark turned away from the door and headed back to Fury's office, where Logan and Laura were waiting inside

"Logan, how's things at the mansion?" Fury asked, "I see you have X23 with you"

"My name is Laura," she growled

"Takes after you," Stark commented

"I just wanted to know how Daken is going," Logan said

"He's doing fine. We have him under observation. I believe he's in a coma, as a result of Stark's fall. But don't worry, Logan, we'll find out about the brainwashing used on him and see if we can't break it"

"Very well then. Thanks"

Logan and Laura got up to leave the room

"Oh and Logan? Laura's free to go. Her help has granted her amnesty"

"Good. Let's keep it that way"

Logan and his daughter then left the room, as Fury lit up a cigar

"This is going to be very interesting from now on"

_-XXXX-_

"Something on your mind, Scott?" Professor Xavier asked

He had been released from the medical ward and was back in his wheelchair again. He had found Scott sitting out in the garden alone, deep in thought

"Thinking about Apocalypse said," Scott replied, "About the war between man and mutant. How it's inevitable"

"We did achieve amnesty with humanity previously," Xavier said, "Who's to say it won't happen again? We can prevent this war"

"I'm not too sure about that, Professor. It's all in play. The Brotherhood's attacks, the Sentinels built in response, the mutants' reactions to that. It will all lead to it"

"Are you sure you're not completely worried about the war that's yet to come?"

"Yes"

"You can't lie to a psychic, Scott. I know what else is troubling you"

"Jean"

"That and Miss Frost. I see that Jean is making her choice"

"So I should do the same?" Scott asked, "I make the choice to walk away"

"And from that, there are other choices. I understand Miss Frost is into you"

"How can you tell?"

"How can I not? Well then, I'll leave it to you. Remember, Scott, the war doesn't have to happen if we can do what we must to prevent it"

Xavier headed back to the mansion, as Scott sank back into his thoughts

_-XXXX-_

Pietro sat beside the prone form of his father, staring at his face

"I guess you'll be happy about this. A war is coming, between humans and mutants. However, whoever survives will get ruled over by some glorified shapeshifter. Is that what you wanted, Father? A war? Well, we've started it. Maybe we'll finish it"

"Why do you always sit at his side and talk to him?" Wanda asked, walking in

"I never told you this because I knew how you'd react. I lied to you, Wanda, because I wanted you by my side. This man is our father"

"Excuse me? You lied to me about him? I thought he was the one who could lead us to salvation from humans. You knew how I felt about meeting our real father"

"Yeah, you said something about killing him for abandoning us. I'm sorry, Wanda"

"I'm sorry too, Pietro, for trusting you. Don't try and find me"

With that, Wanda walked out of the room, as Pietro sighed

"Good one," he said to Magneto, "I don't know why I followed you. Maybe because I wanted to know you. Know what you're like. But you just lost me my sister"

Pietro then got up and left the room. As he did, Magneto's eyes shot open, an image of a large, powerful mutant resting in his pupils. A mutant whose creation had just awoken Magneto and restored his memories. A mutant who seeked to destroy the world of men and mutants. A mutant with the same powers as Magneto and Charles Xavier combined, granting him great and destructive power

A mutant by the name of Onslaught. And he was here on Earth

_-XXXX-_


End file.
